Fire crews continue battle against ever growing Red Lake 12 wildfire

Tim Brody - Editor

Red Lake 12, the wildland fire threatening the communities of Deer Lake First Nation and Sandy Lake First Nation has grown to 175,962 hectares in sizes and remains not under control according to the Ministry of Natural Resources’ Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services’ (AFFES) Northwest Fire Region Sunday evening report.
AFFES shared that incoming crews will staff a new division along the eastern perimeter of the fire over the coming days.
“Near Sandy Lake, Fire Ranger crews are fine-tuning sprinkler systems on buildings and critical infrastructure. Firefighting crews are working to connect hose lines along the eastern perimeter of the fire closest to the community.
“Crews on the southern perimeter are patrolling the fire line and extinguishing hotspots with heli-bucket support,” AFFES informed.
Other fires of note in the Northwest Region include:
Nipigon 5 (NIP 005) – Webequie First Nation
•    Nipigon 5 remains at 10, 816 hectares in size and is not under control. 
•    FireRanger crews continue to make good progress establishing hose lines and patrolling the fire for hotspots, supported by bucketing helicopters. 
•    The most active fire behaviour has been observed on the interior of the fire, and on the northeast and southeast arms.
 Sioux Lookout 18 (SLK018) – Cat Lake First Nation 
•    Sioux Lookout 18 was confirmed on June 7 but has put on significant growth this weekend under sunny skies and warmer temperatures. 
•    The fire has been mapped at 17,901 hectares in size and is not under control.
•    FireRanger crews are focusing on values protection and establishing hose lines on the southwest side of the fire nearest to the community of Cat Lake First Nation.
•    Aerial suppression efforts have been steady for the past three days with ongoing support from bucketing helicopters and CL-415 waterbombers.
To report a wildland fire located north of the French and Mattawa rivers, people are asking to dial 310-FIRE. To report a wildland fire located south of the French or Mattawa Rivers, people are asked to dial 9-1-1.
AFFES shared, “For tips on preventing wildland fires and information on the current fire situation, follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X in English and French: @ONforestfires and @ONfeudeforet. For more information about the current wildland fire situation, visit Ontario.ca/fireupdates (https://www.ontario.ca/page/forest-fires).