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Travel restrictions remain in place in area of Gogama forest fire

Remapping shows fire has diminished to just over 5,600 hectares
TIM 2 Aerial Over Fire, June 8, 2019 (51)
Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests provided this aerial photo of Timmins Fire #002 by Christine Rosche on June 8
NEWS RELEASE
AVIATION, FOREST FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES
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Northeast Region

As of the early evening of June 11, there are three active wildland fires in the region.

  • Chapleau 4 is located north of Hwy 101 between Timmins and Chapleau. It is being held at 16.5 hectares.
  • Sudbury 2 is under control at 0.2 of a hectare, on the southwest side of Windy Lake.
  • Timmins 2 was remapped at 5622 hectares on the west side of Hwy 144, approximately 4 km west of Gogama. More information below.

At the time of this update, the fire hazard is low across the Northeast region; with the exception of the western sides of Wawa and Cochrane districts which are showing a low to moderate hazard.

Fire of note:

Timmins Fire 002

The fire remains approximately 4 kilometres west of the community of Gogama. The fire is burning on the west side of Highway 144 and running parallel to the roadway.

Weather conditions have allowed for a more effective aerial remapping of Timmins 2 yesterday, and the fire has been resized to 5622 hectares.

Rainfall yesterday assisted fire suppression efforts and resulted in very minimal fire activity. Approximately 25 mm of precipitation was recorded on various parts of the fire on June 10. Fire activity continued to be relatively quiet today.

The forecast for tomorrow and Thursday is announcing additional precipitation, estimating well over 20 mm of rain. This will continue to help fire suppression efforts over the coming days.

An incident management team is assigned, and fire suppression activity continues today.

A total of 20 fire crews have been working to establish hose line. Values protection (the installation of sprinklers on structures) is ongoing.

Heavy equipment is assigned to the fire and aerial fire suppression is available should the need arise.

Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry staff continue to work with the community of Gogama to aid community leaders and area residents.

A basecamp is being established in Gogama to house staff on site.

Travel restrictions in parts of Timmins district due to forest fire imposed by MNRF Timmins Disctict

Pursuant to the Emergency Area Order signed June 11, 2019, an Implementation Order has been issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry prohibiting access and travel in portions of Timmins District where there are public safety hazards as a result of fire activity from Timmins #002.

The Order restricts travel, access and use in an identified area (see attached map below) and may be modified regularly to reflect changing fire conditions.

This measure has been put in place to ensure public safety while allowing fire personnel to safely and effectively suppress the fires in the identified area. 

All travel and use of Jack Road from the intersection of Jack Road and Highway 144, westerly to the Ontario Power Generation Mesomekenda Lake Dam, at Mesomekenda Lake is prohibited.

All travel and use of Gogama Unit Road from the intersection of Highway 144 and the Gogama Unit Road, northerly to the north end of Carter Township (UTM 17N 440574 5299137) is prohibited.

All use and occupation of Crown Land or within 500 metres of the described closed roads within this area is prohibited.

If a member of the public believes that access within the restricted travel area is necessary for non-recreational purposes, please call 705-235-1334 to request a travel authorization permit.  MNRF will review the request for access based on the rationale provided, local fire activity, and the potential fire risk.

Please visit ontario.ca/forestfire to view the current access restrictions and fire activity as this site is being updated regularly.

See the restricted travel and access areas on the PDF map attached (Note: this map gets updated regularly).

More Information

For updates on highway closures, check Ontario511 or @OPPCommunicationsNER on Twitter, and Ontario Provincial Police-Northeast Region on Facebook.

For information about the current forest fire situation: 1-888-220-7242

For updates on the fire situation, visit ontario.ca/forestfire or follow us on Twitter @ONforestfires.

To report a forest fire located north of the French and Mattawa rivers, please dial 310-FIRE

Report prepared by Isabelle Chenard

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