The province has called for help to battle forest fires in the region.
Over 100 initial attack forest firefighters from British Columbia landed in Thunder Bay Tuesday afternoon as Northwestern Ontario currently has 86 fires burning 124,539 hectares. Another 100 fighters from B.C. are expected later in the week.
Crews arriving Tuesday will help fight any news fires that start. Ontario fire operations technician Tim Neufeld said because of dry conditions in the Far North, coupled with lightning strikes, a lot of new fires are expected in the coming days.
"Currently we have an extreme fire hazards up in the north particularly the Far North," said Neufeld Tuesday at the Thunder Bay International Airport while waiting for crews to arrive. "We expect to be very busy in the near future."
Jeff McDonell, senior representative for B.C. crews, said it’s unusually wet in B.C this year and with the amount of downtime his crews have had there, they were happy to help Ontario.
"It’s been very quiet back in B.C. so this is a great opportunity for them to gain some more experience," McDonell said after getting off of a Boeing 737 that took him and his 34 three-person initial attack crews to Thunder Bay. "We’re more than happy to come out and lend a hand."
This is the first time that Ontario has needed additional resources for forest fires since 2006, with the exception of a brief visit from B.C. crews last year. After one day of orientation, crews will be sent to attack news fires in Northwestern Ontario.
"They’ll be all over Northwestern Ontario," Neufeld said.
A total of nine aircraft from water bombers to birddogs have also been sent to Ontario from Alberta and Quebec. The help, including B.C. crews, is part of the Mutual Aid and Resource Sharing Agreement.
The MNR says four fires, two each in Red Lake and Sioux Lookout Districts, account for 80 per cent of what’s burning in Northwestern Ontario.
The 5,300 hectare Red Lake District Fire No. 84, which has yet to be controlled, burned a section of hydro lines Monday cutting power to Pickle Lake, Mishkeegogamang, Cat Lake and Slate Falls.
