Area's first forest fire of the season now being held

Six new forest fires have been discovered burning in the northeast since yesterday, bringing the number of active fires to 10.

Meanwhile, the fire hazard is high across the region and while the restricted fire zone has been lifted, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is asking people to be cautious and diligent about fire safety.

The six new fires as of May 21 are:

• Sault Ste. Marie 1 being held at 0.1 of a hectare. It’s burning on the shore of a peninsula on Goulais Bay north of the city.
• Sudbury 7 is under control at 1.3 hectares. It is burning near some railroad tracks north of St. Cloud, near Wanup.
• Sudbury 8 is being held at 0.5 of a hectare. It is burning at the end of Pine Ridge Road on the shore of Trout Lake
• Sudbury 9 is not under control at 7 hectares. It is burning near railroad tracks near Waterfall, west of Estaire off McVittie Road.
• Pembroke 4 is being held at 3.2 hectares. Within the Northeast Fire Region, but a long way from Sudbury, it is burning near Ferguson’s Lake, southwest of Renfrew.
• Kirkland Lake 1 is not under control at 5 hectares. It is burning on the eastern side of Highway 569
• Timmins 2 is 2.5 hectares and being held. It is burning north of the city of Timmins in the vicinity of Feldman Lake.

There are four other active fires in the region.

• Sudbury 6 is under control at 2.5 hectares. It is burning on Sagamok First Nation near Espanola.
• North Bay 3 is being observed at 1 hectare. It is burning on an island in Wicksteed Lake.
• North Bay 6 is not under control at 5 hectares. It is burning well north of Highway 17 between Sturgeon Falls and North Bay.