Forest fire west of Ottawa now contained, officials say
Avanthika Anand | CBC News | Posted: June 6, 2023 11:29 AM | Last Updated: June 6, 2023
Crews are making 'excellent progress' Tuesday, province says
A forest fire that broke out Sunday on the shores of Centennial Lake in eastern Ontario — forcing the evacuation of households in the Township of Greater Madawaska — is now contained, officials say.
Crews are making "excellent progress" on Tuesday, according to a fire adviser for Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.
"Crews are holding the fire within the burnt area," said the township early Tuesday afternoon. "Fire suppression efforts are focused on hot spots and preventative measures."
As of Tuesday afternoon, the fire has not grown in size, but is not yet declared as "being held," said the ministry.
The ministry also said water bombers are available but are not currently required, as crews on the ground continue to battle the fire, with winds on the scene reaching up to 40 km/h.
The most recent update from the township and Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources was the fire was about 45 to 50 hectares in size.
The ministry told CBC Monday it's not aware of any structures lost so far because of the fire. It hasn't shared a cause.
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Larry Sachan, who is among those residents who had to leave, said he remembers smelling smoke at his Black Mountain Road home on the shores of that lake around lunchtime Sunday.
He quickly realized the smoke wasn't from a campfire — even indoors, Sachan said his eyes were burning and his throat felt sore. That's when he and his wife went outside to look and became frightened.
"Above the tree line, you could see the billowing smoke … really thick," he said. "It was really quite horrific how quick it was spreading."
They quickly got some things together — "nothing substantial ... beef jerky, anything for quick energy" — before leaving their home about 50 kilometres west of Calabogie and 170 kilometres west of downtown Ottawa.
Little did the couple realize then that they would spend the night sleeping in their SUV while waiting for authorities to allow them to return home.
The local fire department would evacuate homes like theirs as a precautionary measure because of the forest fire.
That precautionary evacuation order has been extended until 12:30 p.m. Wednesday for Black Mountain Estates, Little Bay Lane, Snider's Tent and Trailer Park and Aird's Lake Road past that park.
The township also said Tuesday it doesn't expect to issue any further evacuation orders.
WATCH | Residents, cottagers worry about their homes:
'We could lose everything'
One cottager told CBC he watched from across the lake Sunday as the fire jumped from a small island to the mainland.
WATCH | Video of the fire from Sunday:
Sachan's neighbour Nancy McCauley was about 160 kilometres south away in Trenton when she heard about the fire and rushed back to find firefighters at her home.
"There was quite a bit of smoke in our area at that time," she recalled
Still, McCauley said the crews allowed her to quickly go into her home and gather a few things.
"It was very nerve-racking … trying to decide 'OK, what do we take with us?" she said.
McCauley said she and her husband grabbed some of their valuables, clothing, old photos and food for their dog in what she described as "a mad dash."
The couple then made their way to their nephew's trailer at a nearby campsite and have been staying there since.
"It's difficult to understand what's going to happen over the next day or so," said McCauley.
"It's frightening because you don't know if you're going to have a house if the fire does move quicker or if the wind picks up," she added. "We could lose everything."
Sachan, McCauley and other displaced residents banded together at the Matawatchan Community Memorial Centre on Monday, where they were welcomed by volunteers offering their homes as a place to stay and a seemingly unlimited supply of coffee.
Smoke affecting air quality
Derek Roche, a board member of the Matawatchan Memorial Community Centre, estimates most of the evacuees were either "campers or cottagers" and many went back to their primary residences.
But for locals, this has been "totally unprecedented."
"To have an emergency like this and possibly even larger, we just weren't prepared for it," he said.
WATCH | Water bombers at work Monday:
John Reid, who lives on Little Bay Lane off Centennial Lake, said he's hopeful the efforts will pay off but he's worried he might lose his home. All he could take with him were his passport and wallet.
"We've been up here for 13, 14 years now," he said. "I'm too old to start again."
The province has a fire ban in place for Renfrew County. It and all surrounding counties except for Ottawa have an extreme fire risk, the highest level on Ontario's four-level scale.
Ottawa, which isn't in one of these Ontario fire regions, has its own ban, as does Kingston and many other municipalities. Quebec has restricted access to some forests and parks.
According to the two provinces, there are five other active forest fires in the region as of Tuesday morning: two in Algonquin Park that are "being held," two not considered under control in the Pontiac region of western Quebec and one there that is under control.
Forest fire smoke is causing very poor air quality and in turn, leading to some cancellations across eastern Ontario and western Quebec. Environment Canada says air quality may be affected most of the rest of the week in eastern Ontario.
Wind is pushing smoke south, according to ministry fire adviser Shane McCool. He said the ministry isn't expecting widespread precipitation and is watching for lightning.