Fire cuts power to five communities

A 5,300-hectare forest fire has cut hydropower transmission to Cat Lake, Pickle Lake, Slate Falls, Mishkeegogamang and Musselwhite Mine due to a burned power line.
Located in the Margaret Lake area about 50 kilometres northeast of Ear Falls, Red Lake District Fire Number 84 was not under control as of July 11.
Five heavy water bombers and three fire crews were brought in to combat the fire, but high winds gusting up to 50 kilometres per hour caused extreme fire behaviour.
The fire burned through the night on July 10, growing from 1,100 hectares in the evening to 4,760 hectares when remapped on the morning of July 11.
Sprinkler protection was placed on tourist outpost camps in the area and tourists were evacuated from Margaret Lake. Suppression efforts also concentrated on preventing further damage to the power line.
Two fires in the Deer Lake area are not under control as of July 11, with Red Lake Number 26 at 121 hectares and Red Lake Number 27 at 259 hectares. The fires were caused by lightning.
Deer Lake residents most at risk were evacuated July 7 to Greenstone, where 548 were registered on July 11.
Sioux Lookout Fire Number 35 near Pickle Lake is not under control as of July 11 at 78,999 hectares. It is located about nine kilometres east of Mishkeegogamang, but community members recently returned home after being evacuated June 22.
An Emergency Area Order remains in effect over the fire and travel restrictions remain on a portion of the Albany River in the vicinity of the fire.
Sioux Lookout Fire 38, located about 16 kilometres north of Weagamow, is being observed as of July 11 at 8674 hectares except for the southern portion which is receiving suppression action by heli-bucketing and working with hand tools to extinguish hot spots located by infrared scanning.
Two fires in the Cat Lake and Slate Falls are not under control as of July 11, Sioux Lookout Fire 61 at 833 hectares and Sioux Lookout Fire 64 at 2,433 hectares. Both fires were caused by lightning.
Sprinklers and hoses have been set up at values located on Brownstone Lake, Graham Lake, Carrilon Lake, Shearstone Lake, and Birch Lake.
The First Nation communities of Sandy Lake, Cat Lake, North Spirit Lake, Kee-way-win and Koocheching remain on evacuation alert.
The Northwest Region has received fire suppression assistance from other provinces, including 100 initial attack firefighters from British Columbia and two tanker groups of two waterbombers and a Birddog aircraft from Quebec.
The Northwest Region had 89 active fires as of July 11, with 40 in the Sioux Lookout District, 37 in the Red Lake District, eight in the Nipigon District, two in the Dryden District and two in the Thunder Bay District.