25 wildfires now burning across northeastern Ontario: MNRF

There were 25 active wildland fires burning across northeastern Ontario as of Sunday morning, fire officials said.

Of those, 19 were not yet under control.

The update comes with a notice of heavy smoke across northeastern Ontario, that fire officials say is due to a large number of fires in eastern Ontario and Quebec.

"Smoke drift" is travelling as far as north of Timmins, down through Sudbury and past Parry Sound, officials said.

A special air quality statement issued by Environment Canada has been continued for today covering most of northeastern Ontario, including the Sault.

For communities further east, the poor air conditions may persist into Monday, Environment Canada said.

You can visit www.firesmoke.ca to see smoke forecasts for your area.

A fire ban issued June 1 remains in effect until further notice. No open air burning, including campfires, is permitted and all burning permits are suspended.

A fire of concern continues to be Wawa 3 near White River, according the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry's firefighting division. 

"Wawa 3 remains at 6,810 hectares and is not yet under control," Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services said in its Sunday morning update. "Fire suppression is ongoing with the support of 5 helicopters and 12 FireRanger crews. Fixed-wing fire suppression aircraft have been actively working on priority areas of the fire."

Travel restrictions are in effect in the Wawa-Chapleau district. (For more information on the travel and use restrictions, see the implementation order map.) 

The other fires of concern were Cochrane 3, 6, and 7 (80, 1,000, and 600 hectares respectively) that remain not yet under control. "Fire ranger crews continue with fire suppression efforts (at these locations)," AFFES said.

If you see smoke and are unsure if you should call it in, fire officials said that generally if you see a column of smoke, call 310-FIRE if you’re located north of the French and Mattawa Rivers (or 911 if you’re south of these rivers).

Otherwise, check the interactive fire map or the smoke-related websites to determine if what you’re seeing is drifting heavy smoke, the AFFES said.

Of the five new fires confirmed yesterday, four are in provincial parks, AFFES reported.

Algonquin Park 6 is 10 hectares and Algonquin Park 7 is 0.3 hectares. The fires are roughly 60 km northwest of Pembroke.

Sudbury 13 is in Rushbrook Provincial Park, and Sudbury 14 is near the southern point of Spanish River Provincial Park. Both fires are about 0.5 hectares.

Cochrane 8 is 30 hectares, about 30 km east of Cochrane.