Toronto/CMEDIA: As many evacuees are reportedly fleeing northern Ontario’s wildfires at Thunder Bay’s and have sought shelter, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said that he is planning to visit Thunder Bay.
The province of Ontario is being criticized for its emergency response and Ford is expected to join Natural Resources Minister Mike Harris in the city today.
Nearly 200 wildfires blazing across the province have scorched more land than all of last year’s fires. Plumes of hazardous smoke have choked the skies across Ontario and parts of the United States.
Ford has said more than Over 150 fire crews and over 80 water bombers and helicopters are battling the wildfires, said Ford and added that the province would keep people safe at all costs.
With multiple northern communities having already been evacuated or evacuations being underway, and others are preparing for possible evacuations.
Ford has faced backlash over the funding and resources the province has allocated for wildfire response, and Harris has been criticized for his ministry’s handling of the evacuations of two First Nation communities.
The province of Ontario had not provided any help to the residents of Whitesand First Nation and Namaygoosisagagun First Nation – also known as Collins First Nation – when they fled approaching wildfires.
Harris said Friday that the fire that swallowed Collins First Nation as its residents escaped in boats was only spotted when it was already at the community’s doorstep because it spread so fast.
Members of Collins First Nation and Whitesand First Nation are sheltering in Thunder Bay hotels, which, the city’s top fire official said, are near or at capacity after evacuees began to flow in on Monday.
Thunder Bay Fire Chief Dave Tarini said at least 500 people fleeing wildfires are sheltering in Thunder Bay, but that’s likely a conservative estimate as it’s hard to gauge an accurate number.
Most evacuees are being hosted by First Nation organizations or found available hotel space themselves, the fire chief says.
He adds that Thunder Bay has not been officially asked to be a host community by the province, which would involve the city finding spaces to accommodate evacuees.
Tarini, a wildfires fighter with the Ministry of Natural Resources in 1991, said this fire season is unprecedented in his more than 35 years of experience as a firefighter.
“The amount of fires that are currently burning and the size of the fires is something that I personally haven’t seen in the Thunder Bay district in my career,” he said.
Tarini said he’s scared at the fast speed fires are moving overnight and expects the wildfires to continue blazing unless the region sees a period of sustained rainfall.
“This is taxing a lot of the resources that are out there and we’re certainly not out of the woods by a long stretch,” he said.
Nine new wildfires were discovered on Friday, the provinces said.
An expanded evacuation alert has been issued for 29 townships threatened by a 550-square-kilometre fire raging south of Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation.
Residents of towns including Ames, Blackwell, Goldie, Lamport, Michener, Savanne and Upsala are asked to be prepared to evacuate on short notice. A full list of townships under the evacuation alert can be found on Ontario’s forest fires web page.
