"Stubborn" Forest Fire Continues to grow outside of Sioux Lookout
See pictures below from outside Keewaytinook Okimakanak office.
From the June 23 issue of the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal newspaper:
"Meanwhile, MNR firefighters were battling a “stubborn” fire about 10 kilometres north of the Sioux Lookout airport yesterday. The blaze was about 22,000 hectares in size yesterday evening, but was burning away from Sioux Lookout itself, McLean said.
The entire area is under an Emergency Area Order, she said, and people were being evacuated from cottages and tourist establishments. Some roads were also being closed.
Waterbombers couldn’t attack the fire directly because of intense flames. The waterbombers were forced to work on the flanks, McLean said.
The MNR was looking at back-burning strategies yesterday, she said. That involves burning an area before the fire gets to it so there’s no fuel when the fire gets there, thereby slowing the blaze down.
Another concern is a number of vehicles in the Deception Bay area. They’ve been parked there by tourists visiting the area for a few days, who are camping or fishing far away from the blaze itself.
Yesterday, the MNR was working on a strategy to defend that area, McLean said.
No official cause for the fires has been identified, but it is thought that lightning could be responsible."
