Some evacuations in northwestern Ontario pause as wildfires slow, with 153 still active

Cooler temperatures and scattered rain the past few days have helped slow the growth of wildfires in northwestern Ontario.

Six new fires were discovered in the region Thursday evening, according to Ontario's Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services (AFFES) agency. At the time of the update, there were 153 active fires, 56 of them considered not under control.

That is a substantial drop from the 81 new fires discovered Tuesday, a new single-day high for this fire season. Thirty-one new fires were found on Wednesday.

The news is bringing some relief to residents.

A Thursday evening update to community members in Red Lake, Ont., a mining town 535 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay, said conditions in the nearby area will remain "relatively stable" the next four to five days.

"The situation over the next few days gives us an opportunity to relax and enjoy some sense of calmness," said the statement from Mayor Fred Mota. "However, we must be mindful that our conditions remain dry and our challenges will likely remain for much of the summer."

The fire known as Red Lake 77 is still of concern to the township, as it's about 33 kilometres west of Red Lake and is considered not under control, at 23,404 hectares.

The daily update from the AFFES added that a total of 30 pieces of heavy equipment and their operators have been engaged in building approximately 40 kilometres of "fire guard in strategic areas" as additional preventive measures.

Pikangikum First Nation has also paused evacuation efforts for the moment, according to Mathew Hoppe, CEO of the Independent First Nations Alliance.

"On a daily basis, we are evaluating, looking at the weather forecast, fire threat, smoke threat, that kind of thing, and then monitoring all the other activities that are happening in the region because of fire and other community evacuations," said Hoppe.

More than 1,000 vulnerable residents from Pikangikum have already left their homes, and are in communities across northern Ontario, including Thunder Bay, Sioux Lookout, Timmins and Sudbury. 

They're among more than 3,000 evacuees displaced due to the fires and heavy smoke, and are in different areas of the province. Some are staying as far away as the Toronto area as well as Cornwall, Ont.

The partial evacuations of Cat Lake and North Spirit Lake First Nation continued Thursday, while the full evacuations of two other First Nations — Poplar Hill and Deer Lake — were completed earlier in the week.

But emergency planning in the case of future evacuations continues, Hoppe told CBC News, as they look for additional space for the roughly 3,000 people remaining in Pikangikum.

"I know there's a bunch of communities being asked, 'Are you willing to do more? Can you do more?'"

The situation and possibility of future evacuations have led to growing calls for Ontario Premier Doug Ford to declare a state of emergency.

A statement from his office did not say if Ford was considering the option.

However, an emergency area order remains in effect for northwestern Ontario, which has allowed the province to institute a number of restrictions on certain mining, rail, construction and transportation operations that have the potential to cause sparks and start fires. The restrictions apply to certain specific drilling operations, using heavy machinery with rubber tires and no chains, and rail production grinding, in the region.

It marks the second time the province has announced restrictions for the northwest under the emergency order.

On Monday, Ontario announced restrictions on the use of mechanized equipment and power saws to harvest or process wood, as well as welding, torching and grinding.

The restrictions will remain in place until further notice.