WHITE RIVER – The wildfire southeast of White River has grown in size from 800 to nearly 4,800 hectares in size over the last 24 hours.
At the moment, the fires are not considered to pose a threat to surrounding communities.
Both White River and Hornepayne are under heavy smoke advisories.
“There is an excess amount of smoke and the air quality is significantly low for both of those areas,” said fire information officer Kyle Hayward.
Highway 631 was closed Monday between White River and Hornepayne due to low visibility from the smoke.
Hayward said that the fire is approximately six to nine kilometres from Highway 631, but the thick smoke will make it unsafe for motor vehicles to get through.
Silver Lake Resources Sugar Zone Gold Mine, located approximately 30 kilometres north of White River off Highway 631, has been evacuated due to the heavy smoke, White River Mayor Tara Anderson Hart told CFNO Radio.
Hayward said the ministry has two ground crews attacking the fire on the ground and an aerial waterbomber has been diverted from the Crocker’s Lake fire, which is about eight kilometres west of White River.
“Because of the nature of the fire, it’s very intense. It’s making it somewhat difficult for crews to approach so that why we are diverted the majority of aerial suppression on the fire and the surrounding perimeter so more crews can advance,” said Hayward.
When asked if sending out crews to aid the wildfires in Alberta has hampered the ministry's ability to suppress fires in Northern Ontario, Hayward said, “what happens here is the priority. While there are still a few teams helping in Alberta, the majority of the resources are here in Ontario.”
So far this year, 72 wildfires have broken out across the province with nearly 14,000 hectares burnt.
