Ontario wildfires consume power lines
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Attacking forest fires from above (Ministry of Natural Resources)
Andrea Stockton, staff writer
July 13, 2011 — Forest fires in northern Ontario have burned power lines and cut electricity to hundreds of customers. It is unknown when people can expect to be back online.
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Fires cause extensive damage (Ministry of Natural Resources)
Wildfires continue to burn across northern Ontario and some have been sparked by lightning strikes recently.
A cold front that slid through the province on Monday brought up to 30 mm of rain to North Bay. Unfortunately, the wet conditions didn't extend as far west as they needed to. Firefighters in northwestern Ontario have been hoping for a stretch of rainy weather as they continue to battle several active fires in the region.
Hundreds of residents are without electricity after flames consumed power lines near Ear Falls Sunday.
“There is a forest fire in the area around Ear Falls, which is affecting the local communities, but also there are 1,200 Hydro One customers without power,” says Danielle Gauvin, Hydro One spokesperson.
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Crews working around the clock to battle the flames (Ministry of Natural Resources)
The power went out around 3:30 pm on Sunday afternoon and officials say Friday could be the earliest date before the lights come back on.
“Now of course until the fires are out, our crews can't go in to rebuild any structures that have been burnt. We do know there is extensive damage, but we'll have to wait until the fire's out,” explains Gauvin.
Officials in Pickle Lake scrambled to find generators to maintain any essential services.
About 120 more personnel from B.C. are being sent to Ontario to help battle the flames. They are expected to stay for roughly 19 days.
Residents in Sandy Lake, Cat Lake, North Spirit Lake, Keewaywin and Koocheching First Nations are on evacuation alert with the risk of drifting smoke in the area.
Late last week, about 500 residents were evacuated near Deer Lake First Nation when smoke from a nearby fire quickly became a health issue.
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