Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Forest Fire Threatens Northwestern Ontario Community

A fairly quiet weekend for Ministry of Natural Resources fire crews, but one blaze is continuing to  be a cause for concern.

A large forest fire is burning in Wabakimi Provincial Park, about 38-kilometres east of Savant Lake.

The fire is burning near fly-in-lodges and the CN mainline and at one point forced the evacuation of 11-residents from the tiny community of Allanwater.

The Ministry of Natural Resources says the fire had grown to over 14-hundred hectares in size but notes thanks to the combined efforts of firefighters and air attack, no property was lost.

Evacuees have returned to their residence and operations on the CN main line have resumed.

There are 21-fire crews and 5-helicopters still commited to the blaze.

The cause is not known.