Lightning contributing factor in recent northwest wildfires: province

CBC News

· Posted: Jun 30, 2025 2:38 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

Lightning is suspected to beryllium down a play spike successful the fig of wildfires burning successful northwestern Ontario, the state said.

Eleven caller wildfires were reported successful the portion arsenic of Sunday evening. Of those, 8 were located successful the Red Lake occurrence absorption area.

"Presently, determination are 35 progressive fires successful the Northwest Region," Chris Marchand, occurrence accusation serviceman with Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services (AFFES), said successful an email to CBC News connected Monday afternoon.

Of those 35 fires, 13 were listed arsenic not nether control, 2 were being held, six nether control, and 14 being observed. Ten fires had been called retired implicit the erstwhile 24 hours, Marchand stated.

"Recent lightning is suspected to beryllium a contributing origin successful these caller occurrence starts," helium said. "In pockets wherever drought conditions whitethorn beryllium lingering successful the soil, fires tin look days aboriginal aft a lighting onslaught erstwhile aboveground conditions yet adust out."

Marchand said with caller lightning successful the past fewer days and much unsettled upwind expected successful the coming days, they expect to see new fires.

FireRanger crews had made "excellent progress" with the astir caller fires, however, acknowledgment successful portion to higher comparative humidity and caller rainfall successful the northwest.

Meanwhile, crews proceed to enactment connected Red Lake 12, which is located adjacent Deer Lake and Sandy Lake First Nations.

The occurrence is much than 195,000 hectares successful size, and not nether control, but owed to caller rainfall, occurrence behaviour was low, AFFES said.

Twenty-three crews are assigned to the fire, with enactment from helicopters.

Elsewhere, Sioux Lookout 18, which is burning adjacent Cat Lake First Nation, is astir 23,600 hectares and not nether control. It's showing "minimal occurrence behaviour," AFFES said.

AFFES is besides reminding radical to support occurrence prevention successful caput during the Canada Day vacation by keeping campfires small, sheltered from wind, and a harmless region from surrounding vegetation.

And anyone readying connected mounting disconnected fireworks during the vacation is advised to bash truthful successful an country that's escaped of flammable materials — specified arsenic implicit a water oregon gravel — and to person occurrence suppression instrumentality on-hand. When the fireworks amusement is over, radical are advised to cheque the country for immoderate blistery residue and enactment it out.