Two of the three wildland fires burning in the Kawarthas region, HAL018 in Hastings County and HAL019 east of Burnt River, are now being held, with the remaining fire — OFR001 south of Kirkfield — still out of control but not spreading.
Early on Wednesday (August 13), the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) provided an update that the HAL018 fire in Hastings County — located on Crown land in the Municipality of Marmora and Lake south of Coe Hill in Wollaston Township and east of Aspley in North Kawartha Township — was being held.
By Wednesday evening, MNR had updated the status of the HAL019 fire, located east of Burnt River and south of Kinmount, to the same.
“Being held” 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.
During a virtual media briefing on Thursday morning organized by the City of Kawartha Lakes, MNR fire information officer Evan Lizotte clarified the “being held” status for HAL019, which remains at 27 hectares in size.
“Essentially, fire rangers have established a boundary and they are confident that the fire will not escape that boundary,” Lizotte said.
Lizotte added that five crews remain on the ground to bring the fire under control, which means it has received sufficient suppression action to ensure no further spread of the fire. Once the fire has been completely extinguished, including all hot spots, it is labelled as being “out.”
“We are cautiously optimistic about that news,” said Kawartha Lakes mayor Doug Elmslie about the being held status for HAL019. “I am reminded that conditions are still very dry and we’re probably one lightning strike from being in the soup again.”
Elmslie later said that the suspected cause of the HAL019 fire was a lightning strike during a thunderstorm last Friday.
A road closure remains in effect on County Road 49 between County Road 121 and Bury’s Green, although City of Kawartha Lakes communications manager Cheri Anderson said “we may see some changes later today.”
While the OFR001 fire south of Kirkfield remains out of control and 33.5 hectares in size, Lizotte said crews are “making good progress on the ground, and do not require aerial attack,” although aerial support is available if required.
Seven crews continue to fight the fire, and Prospect Road remains closed from south of 1304 Prospect Road to north of 1375 Prospect Road.
“We are also somewhat optimistic on the Kirkfield area fire, and we hope to hear news at the end of the day that progress has been made in that area,” said Mayor Elmslie.
He said the municipality is not contemplating any evacuations at this time, but noted farmers in the area of the OFR001 fire “have moved some livestock because they felt they might be threatened.”
The mayor reiterated that, so far, the fires have not caused any injuries among civilians or firefighters.
A total fire ban remains in effect in the entire Kawarthas region.
As for the possibility of forecasted hot weather increasing the fire risk, Lizotte said the MNR takes into account weather forecasts and their potential impact on fire activity.
“We are ready for that,” he said.
