Accommodations filling up as wildfires spur more evacuations in northwestern Ontario

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Additional communities are facing evacuations as dozens of wildfires continue to rage on across northwestern Ontario.

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) North West Region has confirmed the following communities are under mandatory evacuations:

Armstrong.
Whitesand First Nation.
Namaygoosisagagun First Nation (also known as Collins First Nation).
Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation.
Gakijiwanong Anishinaabe Nation (also known as Lac La Croix First Nation).
Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek (also known as Gull Bay First Nation).

Evacuees from Armstrong, Whitesand First Nation and Collins First Nation have been sent to Thunder Bay. CBC News is seeking confirmation of where evacuees from other communities are going.

Heat and air quality warnings remain in place in much of the region, as wildland fire hazards range from moderate to extreme.

Evacuees flee wildfire by boat

Members of Collins First Nation had to self-evacuate by personal boats and vehicles Monday night as a wildfire quickly approached the community, where between 30 and 40 people live.

“At this time, we do not know the scale of the damage to our community but we know that trees directly next to our houses were on fire as community members fled by boats,” Chief Helen Paavola wrote in a statement Tuesday.

Wildfire smoke in the sky over a forested area. — Wildfire smoke is seen in this photo taken between Thunder Bay and Upsala on Monday. (Sarah Law/CBC)

“We are waiting for the Ministry of Natural Resources to complete their aerial assessment and report back to our community. We are preparing to receive official confirmation that our community was completely devastated by this forest fire.”

Kiiwetinoong NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa issued a statement Tuesday, saying “what we are witnessing right now is devastating … an entire First Nation community has been erased because of this disaster.”

Meanwhile, Gull Bay First Nation says there are no more accommodations available in Thunder Bay for its members.

Community members are being transported to Thunder Bay on Wednesday before being flown south to Toronto, the community said in an update Tuesday evening.

“There is no way to ‘create accommodations’ this evening — a sad and unfortunate point that many communities are facing,” the First Nation said.

The following communities are on standby for potential evacuations, according to the OPP:

Rainy River District — Quetico, Crystal Lake, Atikokan and the Niobi Lake area.
Gull Bay First Nation.
Pickle Lake.
Ignace.
Upsala.

A spokesperson for Ontario’s Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Response, Jill Dunlop, provided an emailed statement Tuesday.

“The Provincial Emergency Operations Centre is working closely with the Ministry of Natural Resources, Indigenous Services Canada and municipalities to co-ordinate this evacuation. Impacted residents should follow the direction of local authorities and follow any evacuation orders,” wrote Nastassia Varela.

Road closures, burn bans, outages

The following highways have closures in place:

Highway 527 between Gull Bay First Nation and Armstrong.
Highway 599 between Highway 516 and Mishkeegogamang First Nation.

As of Wednesday, the Ontario government is implementing a restricted fire zone across the northwest region and a small portion of the northeast, which means “no open-air burning, including campfires, is permitted and all burning permits are suspended.”

Wildfire smoke is seen above a train. — Air quality warnings remain in effect in much of the region, including Thunder Bay, Ont., where heavy smoke is seen in this photo from late Tuesday afternoon. (Marc Doucette/CBC)

“Current conditions in this region indicate that fire hazards are expected to remain elevated, with problematic fires continuing to pose risks. As a result, increased forest fire activity is expected to persist into the foreseeable future,” the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) said in a statement Tuesday.

“Members of the public are urged to stay away from active fire areas and wildland fire response operations to allow firefighters and aircraft to work safely and effectively.”

Severe weather and ongoing wildfire activity has caused multiple telecommunications outages across the region, according to Kuhkenah Network (K-Net):

North Spirit Lake First Nation.
Wunnumin Lake First Nation.
Kingfisher Lake First Nation.
Mishkeegogamang First Nation.
Cat Lake First Nation.
Slate Falls Nation.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) is a political territorial organization that represents 49 First Nations across Treaties 9 and 5.

It says it’s especially concerned “about the disruption to critical services in affected communities, including road closures that are impacting daily medical transport for community members requiring dialysis and other essential health services.”

“The wildfires also pose a serious threat to powerlines servicing remote First Nations communities, which could further impact the health and safety of community members,” NAN said in a statement Tuesday.

People can check the province’s interactive forest fire map for updates on fires near them.