Ottawa sending support from armed forces amid northern Ontario wildfire evacuations

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The federal government has deployed members of the Canadian Armed Forces to help evacuate a northwestern Ontario First Nation as wildfires rapidly spread in the region, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday. 

Carney said in a social media post that Ottawa has accepted Ontario’s urgent request for assistance in and around Sandy Lake First Nation, and the military will help with emergency airlift evacuations. 

“We’re prepared to mobilize every resource needed to keep Canadians safe,” Carney wrote. 

The military deployment was also discussed at a meeting of the Incident Response Group that Carney convened on Sunday to address the already highly active wildfire season, according to a readout of the meeting provided by the Prime Minister’s Office. 

As of Sunday, the Ontario government said the Red Lake 12 wildfire, near Deer Lake First Nation, is out of control and more than 1,500 square kilometres in size. The fire is about six kilometres from the community of Sandy Lake First Nation, it said. 

“Overnight growth was minimal, but the fire has been exhibiting high intensity activity this morning,” the Ministry of Natural Resources said. 

Helicopters and fire ranger crews are continuing to suppress the fires and are focusing on structure protection, the ministry said, adding that minimal rain is forecasted in the next 24 hours. 

The ministry said Sandy Lake First Nation is conducting a phase one evacuation of residents by air, and boats will be available if needed. The province said Deer Lake First Nation remains evacuated and is being protected by fire rangers. 

It said the province’s northwest region had 26 active fires as of Saturday night, seven of which were out of control. 

Videos and photos on social media showed one fire approaching a construction site near Sandy Lake First Nation on Saturday, with multiple cargo containers catching on fire and crews reportedly escaping the blaze by sheltering in one of them. 

Manitoba-based construction company Sigfusson Northern confirmed their 14 crew members and four additional staffers were safely evacuated after they were working on a job site near the First Nation. 

“Our crews showed an extreme level of professionalism and courage in the face of a rapidly changing situation,” the company said in a social media post. 

The crew began work in Sandy Lake on Saturday before an evacuation order was in place, but the company says it initiated an aircraft evacuation early that morning and the crew were evacuated later in the day. 

Other provinces, including Manitoba and Saskatchewan, are also undergoing evacuation efforts in some areas due to wildfires. 

The wildfires prompted air quality alerts in Ontario. Environment Canada warned that smoke is causing poor air quality and reduced visibility in areas including Sioux Lookout, Summer Beaver and Ear Falls. 

The weather agency added that some northeastern areas, including Timmins, Kapuskasing and Attawapiskat, are under a special air quality statement Sunday due to the smoke. 

Special air quality statements in place across most of the southern part of the province over the weekend had been lifted as of Sunday.