Wildfire threatening Mattagami First Nation triples in size since Wednesday
A wildfire now threatening Mattagami First Nation in northern Ontario has tripled in size since Wednesday evening.
Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources was reporting that the fire had consumed 3,200 hectares of bush as of Thursday afternoon.
Keep up with the latest news and information with The Weather Network's wildfires hub.
On Wednesday, mandatory evacuations began for the 200 people in Mattagami First Nation, while the province closed a large section of Highway 144 that is near to the fire.
Now, the 300 people in the village of Gogama, to the south of Mattagami, are also on high alert.
“The Ministry of Natural Resources predicts there will be a wind shift starting tomorrow and into Saturday which will be out of the north, which will send the fire basically in our direction,” said Bernie Souliere, Gogama’s fire chief.
Souliere said the community will likely find out on Friday whether or not they need to evacuate.
But current wind conditions place Mattagami at higher risk from the fire. Souliere said the fire was expected to cross the highway sometime Thursday afternoon, bringing it closer to the First Nation.
Fishing lodge evacuates
Just to the north of Mattagami First Nation, Linda Thibodeau has had to leave her business behind.
Thibodeau co-owns the Green Wilderness Lodge with her husband.
On Thursday, officials with the Ministry of Natural Resources told the 27 people on the property — including her family and customers — that they had to get out.
“Some of us are emotional, some of us are worried,” Thibodeau said while on her way to Timmins.
She and her customers had to take the highway north to get out. Many of her clients are from the U.S. and will need to either book flights or take alternate routes back home.
Thibodeau said they were also forced to evacuate in 2012 when a fire, that the province also designated as Timmins 9, got within five kilometres from the fishing lodge.
“We've worked hard for where we've been and where we're at. And to lose everything, I mean, it's heartbreaking,” she said.
This article, written by Jonathan Migneault, was originally published by CBC News on June 4, 2026.