Officials say fire crews the Ontario municipality of Kawartha Lakes are continuing to battle what they describe as a significant forest fire in the Burnt River area.
In an update released on Monday, local and provincial officials said around 27 hectares (or a little more than one-quarter of a square kilometre) of forest is burning in a rural area between Kinmount and Bobcaygeon.
No evacuations were ordered as of late Monday, but City officials urged residents and visitors to avoid the Haliburton 19 fire area. They closed off County Road 49 between County Road 121 and Bury’s Green Road.
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources deployed seven fire crews out of North Bay to battle the blaze, including the occasional use of an aerial water bomber, to assist Kawartha Lakes Fire Rescue and Trent Lakes Fire Service personnel.
“It’s in a very wooded area, and there aren’t necessarily roads that run right up to it, so they have to get as close as they can with our water trucks, the pumper trucks,” Kawartha Lakes mayor Doug Elmslie told CityNews Monday afternoon.
“I think what they’re doing is they’re going to try and attack the fire from the ground. I think they’re in a position now where they can do that, and we’ll see how that works out.”
He said he’s lived in the area for nearly 30 years and can’t recall a wildfire situation like this one occurring in Kawartha Lakes. Elmslie said he’s worried dry conditions mixed with strong wind gusts and leftover, downed trees from winter ice storms will act as fuel for the fire.
“The situation is being monitored very closely,” he said while reflecting what went through his mind
“Great unhappiness, obviously, concern for our residents, concern for property, concern for people visiting. I don’t like to see our forest destroyed and contributing to pollution as well.”
OPP officers issued an update Monday afternoon and said they were alerted to a large grass fire in the town of Kirkfield, approximately 30 kilometres southwest of Burnt River.
“Water bomber planes have also been working hard all afternoon and a fire helicopter has been delivering supplies,” officials wrote in a social media post.
Prospect Road from Portage Road (County Road 48) to Eldon Station Road is closed while emergency crews tend to the fire. Farms are actively moving their animals to safety.
Elmslie encouraged anyone who sees smoke or wants to report a fire ban violation to call the non-emergency Kawartha Lakes Fire Rescue line at 705-324-2191.
He added officials haven’t determined a cause to the fire, adding the focus is currently on extinguishing it.
Bill Tynilainan told reporters he owns property in the area and drove up to see how things are going.
“I’m very concerned because if the wind changes direction it could come towards us and it could jump over highways easily,” he said.
“The way the wind was going sparks were hitting people’s cottages on Crystal Lake, which is quite a distance away from the fire.”
Aviation enthusiast and photographer Evan Whiskin said he wanted to get pictures of the water bomber scooping water from Four Mile Lake at Burnt River nearly 10 kilometres away from the scene of the Haliburton 19 wildfire.
“Even though I’m about an hour away having a forest fire this close hits very close to home and it is surprising to me,” he told reporters.
Crawford Luke, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said the Kawartha Lakes region has been “hot and dry just like much of southern Ontario,” and because it is farther away from the Great Lakes that means less humidity adds to the problem.
“Haliburton, Peterborough, Hastings, a lot of these areas are basically running out like half the amount of rainfall they would typically see dating back to July, and so far this month it hasn’t really rained at all in many of these areas,” he told CityNews.
“Certainly this current stretch around where it’s two, three weeks without rain has just really exacerbated the situation.”
Residents said the region had a brief storm on Friday, but most of the rainfall happened west near Lake Simcoe. Luke said weather data showed trace amounts of rain, potentially up to four millimetres, in the Kawartha Lakes area and around 100 lightning strikes.
“Not enough rain to really change the narrative on this,” he said.
Luke said an incoming cold front will lower the temperature a bit on Tuesday and potentially bring some precipitation. He added the next chance of rainfall will be on the weekend.
“Nothing super substantial, organized in terms of rainfall it seems for this time,” Luke said.
Fire bans in effect, advocates say incidents in Kawartha Lakes serve as reminder to have emergency kits
A total fire ban remains in effect across Kawartha Lakes.
“Do not operate drones near active fire areas. This is illegal and poses serious risks to both aerial and ground crews,” officials state.
Many surrounding areas have also put fire bans in effect due to the extreme heat. Clarington, King Township, Oshawa, Newmarket, Aurora, Richmond Hill, Innisfil, Pickering, Caledon, Milton and Oakville have banned all open air fires.
According to the Ontario government, a burn ban includes “all burning, including grass, debris and campfires, even when using an outdoor fire grate, fireplace or fire pit.”
Click here for more details on what you can and can’t use.
Elmslie and others said the current fire incident serves as a good reminder to have an emergency kit. They said there should be enough supplies to last everyone in the household at least 72 hours.
CityNews spoke with Canadian Red Cross spokesperson Jason Small generally about wildfires and not specifically about the situation in Kawartha Lakes.
“Fires can move extremely fast. Evacuation orders can come in quickly, and everybody should be ready for those,” he said.
He recommended buying a kit or building one with at least these items:
- Bottled water
- Non-perishable food that household members will prefer to eat
- Baby food
- Medications
- Pet food and medications
- Important documents (driver’s licence, birth certificates, passports, legal papers etc.)
- Crank-, solar- or battery-powered flashlight and radio
Click here for more recommendations from the Canadian Red Cross.
With files from The Canadian Press
