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

Desmond Brown · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 13, 2025 3:31 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

A two-weeks-long occurrence prohibition that was successful spot for Thunder Bay has been lifted by Thunder Bay Fire Rescue, portion the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) has lifted each occurrence bans connected Crown onshore and unincorporated agrarian townships crossed northwestern Ontario.

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

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

The occurrence prohibition had been successful effect since May 30 connected each outdoor open-air burning wrong the City of Thunder Bay. 

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

Don't fto your defender down, MNRF tells residents

The MNRF says it considered a fig of factors successful arriving astatine its decision. These see regular upwind and occurrence conditions, arsenic good arsenic forecast upwind trends implicit longer periods of clip and imaginable drying conditions and precipitation.

The ministry besides considered the fig of wildland fires that are burning, and the fig of resources required to negociate some existent and imaginable wildland fires.

"Lifting the RFZ does not mean we tin fto our defender down erstwhile it comes to preventing human-caused fires. We each request to stay vigilant and support information apical of caput erstwhile having outdoor fires," the MNRF said successful a Friday update.

The ministry is reminding radical that the wide occurrence information tin alteration rapidly based connected the regular upwind resulting successful debased to mean occurrence hazard 1 day, followed by precocious to utmost the adjacent simply based connected the aboveground wood fuels drying retired quickly, starring to fires starting easy and higher rates of occurrence dispersed nether the close burning conditions.

The ministry says it volition proceed to measure wildland occurrence hazard conditions and an RFZ designation whitethorn beryllium reinstated successful higher hazard areas if the occurrence hazard and occurrence enactment warrants.

New wildland occurrence successful northwest region

Meanwhile, 1 caller wildland occurrence — Red Lake 19 (RED019) — was confirmed successful the northwest portion Thursday evening, the MNRF says.

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

At the clip of the ministry's latest update determination were 21 progressive wildland fires successful the northwest region. Of those fires, 7 were not nether control, 1 was being held, 5 were nether power and 8 were being observed.

The ministry says the wildland occurrence hazard is chiefly mean crossed the northwest portion with pockets of precocious hazard scattered passim each sectors. The hazard crossed the acold northbound is low.