Forest fire west of Ottawa now contained, officials say

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 afire 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 CBCMonday 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, whois among those residents who had to leave,said he remembers smelling smoke at his Black Mountain Road home on the shores of that lakearound lunchtimeSunday.

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. "Itwas 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 about50 kilometres west of Calabogie and 170 kilometres west of downtown Ottawa.

Little did the couple realize thenthatthey would spend the night sleeping in their SUVwhile 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 forBlack 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': Centennial Lake residents worry about encroaching fire

1 year ago

Duration 1:34

Some residents of the Township of Greater Madawaska gathered at the Matawatchan Memorial Community Hall after being evacuated from their homes Sunday.

'We could lose everything'

One cottagertold CBChe watched from across the lake Sunday asthe fire jumpedfrom a small island to the mainland.

WATCH | Video of the fire from Sunday:

Flames visible from the water as forest fire burns west of Ottawa

1 year ago

Duration 0:47

Dozens of homes have been evacuated in the Township of Greater Madawaska after a forest fire broke out Sunday afternoon.

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 andfood for their dogin 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 ifthe 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 MatawatchanCommunity Memorial Centre on Monday, where they were welcomed by volunteers offering their homes as a place to stayand aseemingly 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:

Watch a water bomber fly over the flames near Centennial Lake

1 year ago

Duration 0:24

Water bombers and helicopters are part of ongoing firefighting efforts to put out a forest fire in the Township of Greater Madawaska.

John Reid, who lives on Little Bay Lane off Centennial Lake, said he's hopeful the efforts will pay off buthe'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, 14years now," he said. "I'm too old to start again."

The provincehasa fire ban in placefor 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 doesKingstonand many other municipalities. Quebec hasrestricted accessto 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," twonot considered under controlin the Pontiac region of western Quebec and one there that is under control.

Forest fire smoke is causing very poor air qualityand 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.

Windis pushing smokesouth, according to ministry fire adviser Shane McCool. He said the ministry isn't expecting widespread precipitation and is watching for lightning.