Wildfire evacuees from two First Nations in northwestern Ontario are being relocated to Toronto and Barrie, Ont., this weekend, after community leaders declared states of emergency this week.
Leaders in Deer Lake First Nation (DLFN), about 70 kilometres from the Manitoba border, said Friday the entire community of about 1,300 people are evacuating to Toronto due to a nearby wildfire estimated to be nearly 75 square kilometres in size.
In Webequie First Nation, about 540 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont., a fire is burning within a kilometre of the community, according to a Friday news release put out by the chief and council. That’s prompted the first phase of an evacuation for elders, children and other vulnerable groups, totalling about 400 people.
They will be transported to Barrie over the weekend, the release said.
“We will continue to monitor the fire to determine if further evacuation is needed and will continue ongoing communications with residents,” Chief Cornelius Wabasse said in the release.
Another wildfire northwest of Kenora, Ont., also displaced residents of Wabaseemoong First Nation earlier this month. About 800 people in that community were evacuated to Niagara Falls, with smaller numbers sent to Kenora and Winnipeg.
Sol Mamakwa, MPP for the region where the First Nations are located, urged the province to speed up support for evacuees and other communities being impacted by fires in the north of the province, as well as wildland firefighters.
“It is vital that wildland firefighters are adequately staffed and resourced as they are on the frontlines protecting the residents of northern Ontario,” he said.
Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources was not immediately available to provide comment Saturday in response to Mamakwa’s statement.
