One of the three wildland fires burning in the Kawarthas region, HAL018 in Hastings County, is now being held, with the remaining two fires — HAL019 east of Burnt River and OFR001 south of Kirkfield — still out of control but not spreading.
On Wednesday morning (August 13), the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) reported that HAL018 in Hastings County — located on Crown land in the Municipality of Marmora and Lake south of Coe Hill in Wollaston Township and east of Apsley in North Kawartha Township — is being held.
The “being held” status means that, with current committed resources, crews have taken sufficient suppression action so that the fire is not likely to spread beyond existing or predetermined control boundaries under prevailing or forecasted conditions.
Four crews are on the ground with air attack support as required to fight the fire, which remains at 12.8 hectares in size.
During a virtual media briefing on Wednesday afternoon organized by the City of Kawartha Lakes, MNR fire information officer Evan Lizotte provided an update on the two fires in Kawartha Lakes.
Lizotte said there have been no significant changes since Tuesday. A small amount of rain that fell in the area overnight (around two millimetres) did not affect the fires, although it has helped bring the fire hazard down. However, Lizotte added, hot weather over the next few days is expected to increase the fire hazard again.
Fire HAL019, which is located east of Burnt River and south of Kinmount, remains at 27 hectares in size. While it is still out of control, it has been “tied in,” meaning that suppression efforts are in place to prevent it from spreading further.
Five crews continue to fight the fire, with operations on Tuesday focused on the ground. Lizotte said no air attack was required on Tuesday and is not expected to be needed on Wednesday.
A road closure remains in effect on County Road 49 between County Road 121 and Bury’s Green until further notice.
Fire OFR001, located around six kilometres southwest of Kirkfield, is still out of control but remains at 33.5 hectares in size. Five Kawartha Lakes fire stations are dealing with the brush fire, with assistance from five crews from MNR. There are 63 staff at the site of the fire, including 26 MNR staff.
“That is proving to be a difficult fire, as they have flare-ups from time to time,” Kawartha Lakes mayor Doug Elmslie said during the media briefing.
“They didn’t have an appreciable amount of rain, so it didn’t do a whole lot to quell the situation. There are apparently 22 attack lines out, and they’re doing an extensive mop-up operation behind the fire because of the flare-ups.”
Prospect Road remain closed from south of 1304 Prospect Road to north of 1375 Prospect Road while crews continue to fight the fire.
Elmslie said the situation remain serious, but no evacuations are required and none are planned.
In response to a reporter’s question about how the firefighters are doing, Lizotte said MNR’s priority is to reduce the risk of heat exposure and dehydration. Cloud cover will assist with preventing heat exposure, and firefighters are encouraged to take frequent breaks and stay hydrated.
After another reporter asked whether whether provincial support has been adequate, Elmslie said “at this point, I have no complaints,” noting MNR’s lead efforts on fire HAL019 and its assistance on fire OFR001.
The mayor added that Kawartha Lakes-Haliburton-Brock MPP Laurie Scott has been “has been front and centre” and that he talks with her “two, three times a day” to share information on the fires.
A reporter asked about the impact of the fires on Kawartha Lakes residents.
Elmslie said fire HAL019 is in a very remote area and, other than some hunting camps and a few seasonal and permanent residents in the vicinity, it’s not a largely populated area.
“More concerning would be over in the Kirkfield area, which has more residents, and the other issue over there is livestock, and moving those livestock,” the mayor said. “But again, the situation is such that we don’t envision that we will have to do an evacuation of any kind but, if it becomes necessary, then we will deal with it as we have to.”
In response to a reporter’s question about how much rain would be required to make an impact on the fires, neither Elmslie nor Lizotte could provide a definitive answer. However, Lizotte said any rain would be welcomed and Elmslie said he would like to see “three days of soaking rain” for farmers whose crops are suffering.
