By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Thunder Bay Source DEER LAKE \u2013 The forest fire west of Wabaseemoong is no longer the largest in Northwestern Ontario now that a blaze farther north has grown to more than 65,000 hectares. The Red Lake 12 fire that caused the evacuation of Deer Lake First Nation last week was blanketing 65,186 hectares as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources. That\u2019s more than 3.5 times the size estimated on Monday. Smoke from fires to the west hurt the ministry\u2019s ability \u201cto monitor the growth of Red Lake 12 consistently throughout the operational window,\u201d MNR fire information officer Allison Lake told Newswatch in an email. \u201cAfter several days of reduced visibility, conditions improved, allowing for high-level infrared scanning of wildland… <\/p>\n
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Thunder Bay Source DEER LAKE \u2013 The forest fire west of Wabaseemoong is no longer the largest in Northwestern Ontario now that a blaze farther north has grown to more than 65,000 hectares. The Red Lake 12 fire that caused the evacuation of Deer Lake First Nation last week was blanketing 65,186 hectares as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources. That\u2019s more than 3.5 times the size estimated on Monday. Smoke from fires to the west hurt the ministry\u2019s ability \u201cto monitor the growth of Red Lake 12 consistently throughout the operational window,\u201d MNR fire information officer Allison Lake told Newswatch in an email. \u201cAfter several days of reduced visibility, conditions improved, allowing for high-level infrared scanning of wildland... <\/p>\n