Wildfires force more than 800 to evacuate northwestern Ontario First Nation

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Wildfires have forced more than 800 residents to evacuate their northwestern Ontario First Nation.

Chief Waylon Scott of the Wabaseemoong Independent Nation, which sits about 100 kilometres northwest of Kenora near the Manitoba border, says rain and cooler temperatures have kept several fires at bay, but the blazes still pose a major threat.

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In a video conference with reporters Sunday, he said crews are trying to beat back flames from a 0.3-square-kilometre wildfire burning just over a kilometre from the community.

Scott says roughly 100 firefighters, including 20 flown in from British Columbia, are battling that blaze as well as two much bigger fires — one roaring across 90 square kilometres and from which the smaller fire jumped.

Scott says sprinklers are now set up outside about 80 per cent of the buildings in his community, with every home likely to have one within a couple of days.

Fast-moving wildfires triggered evacuation alerts across northwestern Ontario last week amid the first heat wave of the season.

Manitoba also declared a state of emergency in one of its provincial parks as that province battles several large fires.

Scott said about 800 Wabaseemoong residents were flown to Niagara Falls, Ont., for a stay at a pair of hotels, with medical staff on site, while a couple dozen more headed to Winnipeg.

“We literally had hours to evacuate because the Kenora fire literally sprang up without anyone knowing. It wasn’t on MNR’s (the Ministry of Natural Resources’) radar.

“It was scary at times,” he said. “You can actually hear the roar of the fire from across the river.”

Since Scott became chief in 2019, the community has seen three evacuations and six emergencies, he said.

“I can’t explain what kind of toll it takes on them, but it does take a toll,” he said. “Every spring moving forward, I believe they’re going to be on the edge of their seat with the fire season.”