Even as the number of individual wildfires affecting Ontario are down, the damage they are causing has increased exponentially.
So far this year, 93 wildfires in Ontario are responsible for damage to 42,855 hectares of land — a marked increase over last year’s totals up to this date.
By this date in 2015, 135 fires were responsible for damage to 528 hectares.
Shayne McCool, fire information officer for the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), said most of the large fires have occurred in the Northwest Region, close to the Manitoba border.
“We have one fire in particular in Red Lake that is a significant portion of that total. That’s why you’re seeing such a higher value for this year,” said McCool.
Red Lake Fire Number 3 is currently not under control, causing fire damage to 13,000 hectares within Woodland Caribou Provincial Park.
Another fire, affecting 600 hectares near Rice Lake, has caused the evacuation of Ingolf, Ont.
About 100 people are affected.
McCool said yesterday’s structure fire which occurred near Agawa Bay northwest of the Sault was extinguished.
“I believe it was an old gas station. It originated in the structure but spread into the bush. We sent some forest fire rangers to extinguish the portion that was in the bush and, from what I understand, they also worked with the municipal fire department,” said McCool.
The MNR lists the fire hazard level in the immediate area of Sault Ste. Marie as being low to moderate risk.
Further northwest, an Emergency Area Order (EAO) is being implemented east-west between the Minaki Highway and Manitoba border and north-south between the CN Rail Line and Trans-Canada Highway.
As a result of the EAO, some precautionary evacuations have taken place and the MNR may restrict travel on an as-needed basis.
The province’s response to the wildfires in Alberta will not affect the MNR’s ability to effectively fight fires in Ontario, said McCool.
“We always leave ourselves in a position where we can adequately deal with fires in our region. We will never leave ourselves in a position where we are short of staff,” he said.
This time of year is grass fire season, said McCool, the public should consider composing or sending items to the landfill as alternatives to burning.
“It’s a very dangerous time to be starting fires on your property, whether you are burning grass or debris,” he said.
“Grass fires can get away in seconds, especially with the conditions we are seeing right now,” said McCool.