THUNDER BAY — Some new fires cropped up in the forests of Northwestern Ontario on Tuesday, including a small one on an island on Loch Lomond.
The largest fire has burned an area of 600 hectares near the far north boundary of the Sioux Lookout sector of the Ministry of Natural Resources.
This is in a remote location about 50 kilometres northwest of Severn River Provincial Park.
The MNR is currently keeping the fire under observation.
It's also monitoring a 60-hectare fire northwest of Severn River Provincial Park, near Swan Lake.
Another substantial fire is in the ministry's Red Lake sector, just east of the Manitoba border and just south of Burnt Lake.
It has burned 530 hectares and is not under control.
One other fire of note is a 100-hectare blaze in a remote part of the Red Lake sector near the Manitoba border and Little Gorman Lake, which is being kept under observation.
On the outskirts of Thunder Bay, the ministry discovered a blaze on an island on Loch Lomond, about two kilometres outside the boundary of Fort William First Nation.
The fire was listed as under control by Wednesday afternoon.
A total of seven new fires were confirmed across the region between Monday night and Tuesday evening.
There are now 16 active fires in Northwestern Ontario, of which two are under control, one is being held, two are not under control, and the remainder are being observed.
The forest fire hazard currently ranges from low to high, with the northern half of the region seeing a mostly moderate-to-high hazard.
