Wildfire within 1 kilometre of Deer Lake First Nation prompts call for community evacuation

Sarah Law · CBC News

· Posted: May 28, 2025 7:16 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

Water bombers and vertebrate canine craft are responding to a wildfire adjacent Deer Lake First Nation successful northwestern Ontario, which has prompted enactment to petition a assemblage evacuation.

The fire, known arsenic Red Lake 12, is wrong 1 kilometre of Deer Lake's airport, occurrence accusation serviceman Chris Marchand told CBC News.

"The occurrence has rapidly grown successful size to 100 hectares and assemblage officials are guiding residents to a harmless portion adjacent the bay adjacent to the nursing station," Ontario's Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services (AFFES) posted connected Facebook Wednesday evening.

About 1,100 radical unrecorded successful Deer Lake, an Oji-Cree assemblage successful Treaty 5 located astir 180 kilometres northbound of Red Lake. It is lone accessible by aerial oregon wintertime road.

Shortly earlier 5:30 p.m. CST, southwest winds were pushing the flames distant from the community, Marchand said, though helium noted the concern was rapidly evolving.

West of Deer Lake, Manitoba has declared a provincewide authorities of exigency arsenic wildfires are rapidly spreading crossed the region. 

"We person not astatine each had capable moisture to truly get america retired of these escalating occurrence conditions," said Marchand. "This ongoing deficiency of rainfall implicit the past respective weeks, peculiarly adjacent the Manitoba border, is resulting successful immoderate truly precocious to utmost occurrence behaviour and accelerated rates of spread."

Late Wednesday afternoon, Webequie First Nation issued a pre-evacuation announcement to its members owed to a adjacent wildfire, encouraging radical to hole 72-hour exigency kits with medications, ID, water, covering and charging cables arsenic a precaution.

"As 1 acceptable of tankers were headed to Deer Lake, different acceptable of tankers were headed to that community," Marchand said.

Earlier successful May, an evacuation bid was issued successful Wabaseemoong Independent Nations due to Kenora 20, an progressive wildfire successful the northwest which is present 32,000 hectares large. Evacuees are staying successful Niagara Falls, Winnipeg and Kenora.

A fig of restrictions stay successful effect successful the region, including a restricted occurrence zone, question bans and limits connected entree to definite lakes and waterways, arsenic the wildland occurrence hazard remains precocious to extreme.

"We would inquire that residents obey the restricted occurrence portion astatine this time, erstwhile we person a batch of our resources engaged successful emerging situations. We don't request immoderate much human-caused fires connected the landscape," Marchand said.