Forest fires were burning in 74 areas of the Northwest Region as of Sunday afternoon, including this one above, the Red Lake Fire Number 96. (Submitted Photo/MNRF)

Forest fires growing as a result of lightening strikes

Forest fires in both the west-coast province of British Columbia, and the central province of Ontario are continuing to grow.

In Ontario there are now 74 fires burning in the north-eastern regions with 29 of those fires reportedly out-of-control.

Wabaseemoong First Nation was being evacuated this past week as a result of the smoke from a 9,100-hectare forest fire burning nearby.

“This time of year, lightning fires are very standard”

Wauzhushk Onigum First Nation is hosting about 45 members of Wabaseemoong First Nation, mostly children, the elderly and those with respiratory issues.

Wauzhushk Onigum Chief Chris Skead said the evacuees are staying in the community development centre.

“We have the Kenora Chiefs Advisory, that’s one of our … organizations within Wauzhushk Onigum, and they’ve come and stepped up to the plate to provide food, water,” Skead told the CBC yesterday.

“The Red Cross was dispatched, I believe, Friday evening, and they arrived with cots and things like that.”

Jonathan Scott is a fire information officer with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

In an interview with CBC he said, “There are 100 firefighters committed to the fire at this time, and also helicopters are water-bucketing on the fire to help them establish lines along the fire,” Scott said. “With clearing skies, smoke will increase on that fire.”

None of the fires are a direct threat to any of the communities yet.

Scott said most of the fires were caused by lightning strikes.

“This time of year, lightning fires are very standard,” he said. “Especially when there’s been minimal [precipitation], and lightning cells have moved through.”

Scott said the overall forest fire hazard in Northern Ontario is moderate to high.

Forest fires from Mount Eneas create the plume of smoke high into the sky near Peachland, British Columbia, yesterday. (Colleen Loewen)

Meanwhile in British Columbia, fire crews conducted controlled burns yesterday in an effort to stay in control of the fires.

Glen Burgess, of the British Columbia Wildfire Service told reporters it was important to conduct the burns in the current, cooler weather conditions.

“Obviously it can be unnerving,” Burgess said. “That plume of smoke was most likely to occur, we’d just rather do it on our terms.”

“The situation is definitely stabilized from where we were at, say, 72 hours ago,” Kevin Skrepnek, a fire information officer, said.

“Having said that though we are expecting, starting today and really for the foreseeable future, we are rebounding right back into a fairly typical summer pattern — fairly warm days certainly here in the Interior, probably north of 30 [C] most days, and no real significant rain in sight.”

(with files from CBC)

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