Thunder Bay, Ministry of Natural Resources lift fire bans in city and across northwestern Ontario

A two-weeks-long fire ban that was in place for Thunder Bay has been lifted by Thunder Bay Fire Rescue, while the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) has lifted all fire bans on Crown land and unincorporated rural townships across northwestern Ontario.

The fire bans were lifted at 10 a.m. on Friday for Thunder Bay, at 12:01 a.m. for northwestern Ontario restricted fire zones (RFZ) 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.

Thunder Bay Fire Rescue says its decision aligns with the MNRF declaration of lifting the Restricted Fire Zone for the Thunder Bay District, issued in response to a lowered wildfire risk.

The fire ban had been in effect since May 30 on all outdoor open-air burning within the City of Thunder Bay. 

With the ban lifted, Thunder Bay Fire Rescue says all open-air and recreational burning permits are now valid.

Don't let your guard down, MNRF tells residents

The MNRF says it considered a number of factors in arriving at its decision. These include daily weather and fire conditions, as well as forecast weather trends over longer periods of time and potential drying conditions and precipitation.

The ministry also considered the number of wildland fires that are burning, and the number of resources required to manage both current and potential wildland fires.

"Lifting the RFZ does not mean we can let our guard down when it comes to preventing human-caused fires. We all need to remain vigilant and keep safety top of mind when having outdoor fires," the MNRF said in a Friday update.

The ministry is reminding people that the overall fire danger can change rapidly based on the daily weather resulting in low to moderate fire hazard one day, followed by high to extreme the next simply based on the surface forest fuels drying out quickly, leading to fires starting easily and higher rates of fire spread under the right burning conditions.

The ministry says it will continue to assess wildland fire hazard conditions and an RFZ designation may be reinstated in higher risk areas if the fire hazard and fire activity warrants.

New wildland fire in northwest region

Meanwhile, one new wildland fire — Red Lake 19 (RED019) — was confirmed in the northwest region Thursday evening, the MNRF says.

RED019 is located approximately 25 kilometres east of the Ontario-Manitoba border, and 10 kilometres northwest of Angekum Lake. The five-hectare fire is not under control, the ministry said.

At the time of the ministry's latest update there were 21 active wildland fires in the northwest region. Of those fires, seven were not under control, one was being held, five were under control and eight were being observed.

The ministry says the wildland fire hazard is mainly moderate across the northwest region with pockets of high hazard scattered throughout all sectors. The hazard across the far north is low.