Quetico Park Closures (Ontario Parks NW Twitter Feed)

That's a pretty large partial closure.

My route is right across Sturgeon. Looks okay for now but this isn't encouraging.

Are they fighting these fires???

As no one lives in the park, resources will likely be prioritized for areas with dwellings.

That is large! Do they fight fires in Quetico? I had the impression that they let nature take its course, but that could be wrong.

I wonder if Webster Ashburton allows Canadians to use US side..... ;)

My route was planned for mid-August to go through that area: Sturgeon, Maligne R, Tanner, Darkwater, Brent, McIntyre, Sarah, Kahshahpiwi, etc…was thinking of getting down there during a quiet summer. Was thinking of checking out Argo Lake, too, but at this rate not much will be there but charred carbon. Oh well…future generations can enjoy the regenerated jack pines etc. C’est la vie.

Looking at the firesmoke.ca map, most of Woodland Caribou will be gone, too.

I’m in Toronto and I can smell the smoke today from those fires 2000 km away. Getting pretty thick this afternoon. Smoke forecast

LarryS48: "That is large! Do they fight fires in Quetico? I had the impression that they let nature take its course, but that could be wrong. "

From the management plan:

“Although the wilderness concept is intended to allow natural forces to function freely, one significant set of constraints must be recognized. Quetico’s management philosophy must not result in the endangerment of values external to the park or of certain specified values within its boundaries. As an example, should a forest fire within the park endanger capital intensive access zone facilities or exterior commercial timber stands, Quetico’s management policies must permit fire suppression action despite inconsistency with the wilderness ideal. Thus, insect infestations, disease and fire (though all natural components of the park’s ecosystem) may not be allowed to run their natural course without management intervention. However, if intervention is undertaken, every effort will be made to minimize its environmental impact.”

So, my reading is that if the fire is going to damage a ranger cabin or burn across the park boundary, they’ll suppress it. If not, let ‘er burn. These fires might get suppressed if they get any closer to the Minnesota border.