{"id":107232,"date":"2026-07-24T10:44:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T14:44:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=107232"},"modified":"2026-07-24T10:49:04","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T14:49:04","slug":"collins-chief-says-they-were-told-not-to-worry-about-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/24\/collins-chief-says-they-were-told-not-to-worry-about-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"Collins chief says they were told ‘not to worry’ about fire"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Maya Ekman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, NWOnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY \u2014 \u201cWe do not understand how MNR failed to protect our community,\u201d said Chief Helen Paavola of Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, also known as Collins. At a press conference held by Nishnawbe Aski Nation on Tuesday, Paavola shared that she was flown to her community the day before to see the damage done by the wildfire that reached her community last week. \u201cI visited our homelands yesterday and during a community meeting this morning, I confirmed that there\u2019s nothing left but just ashes,\u201d she said. Minister of Natural Resources Mike Harris said at a press conference in Thunder Bay last week that the fire that destroyed the community had started that day. However, the fire was first reported on May 31…. <\/p>\n

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By Maya Ekman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, NWOnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY \u2014 \u201cWe do not understand how MNR failed to protect our community,\u201d said Chief Helen Paavola of Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, also known as Collins. At a press conference held by Nishnawbe Aski Nation on Tuesday, Paavola shared that she was flown to her community the day before to see the damage done by the wildfire that reached her community last week. \u201cI visited our homelands yesterday and during a community meeting this morning, I confirmed that there\u2019s nothing left but just ashes,\u201d she said. Minister of Natural Resources Mike Harris said at a press conference in Thunder Bay last week that the fire that destroyed the community had started that day. However, the fire was first reported on May 31.... <\/p>\n

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Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-level-8","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"\nCollins chief says they were told 'not to worry' about fire - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/24\/collins-chief-says-they-were-told-not-to-worry-about-fire\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Collins chief says they were told 'not to worry' about fire - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Maya Ekman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, NWOnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY \u2014 \u201cWe do not understand how MNR failed to protect our community,\u201d said Chief Helen Paavola of Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, also known as Collins. At a press conference held by Nishnawbe Aski Nation on Tuesday, Paavola shared that she was flown to her community the day before to see the damage done by the wildfire that reached her community last week. \u201cI visited our homelands yesterday and during a community meeting this morning, I confirmed that there\u2019s nothing left but just ashes,\u201d she said. Minister of Natural Resources Mike Harris said at a press conference in Thunder Bay last week that the fire that destroyed the community had started that day. 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