Skip to content

Key River residents devastated by 'decimation' fire has caused

Evacuees grateful for the MNR, volunteers helping with evac and firefighting

Pamela Steel, Parry Sound North Star

With the Key River fire having grown to some 5,000 hectares, those who live in the area are aghast at the "enormity of the disaster" the forest fire has caused.

Key River is located just south of Grundy Lake Provincial Park and French River. Henvey Inlet First Nation, which is south of Key River, has also been evacuated. Several members of that community were evacuated to Sudbury.

The evacuation has been expanded, Killarney councillor Jim Rook told the Parry Sound North Star on Saturday. The July 21 news story stated the OPP and MNR are conducting a mandatory evacuation of people in from French River to Pickerel River, from Georgian Bay to Highway 69. More details will be reported as they are available.

Key River is devastated at the impact of the 5,000-hectare fire burning out of control, which forced the July 20 evacuation.

Jennifer and Lisa Kivinen, co-presidents of the Key River Area Association, released a statement this afternoon stating the "MNR and OPP crews have been working diligently to battle the enormous blaze."

Saturday morning the police opened a small window of time for residents who stayed overnight at island cottages to leave.

The OPP and MNR continue to stop door-to-door to ensure the safety of all cottagers/residents.

"We are eternally grateful for the area volunteers who have stepped up to assist the MNR. The KRAA is a tight knit community who has and will continue to assist each other whenever and wherever possible," they stated, adding the example of the island cottages which have opened their doors and their hearts to evacuees. "Last night the evening skyline was aglow and punctuated the enormity of this disaster. The air is smoke-filled and unfortunately at this point the winds are not in our favour.

"We are speechless with the decimation of our beautiful piece of heaven."

Reports of smoke from as far away as Manitoulin Island have been noted to association members.

"We cannot fathom the environmental impact this will have for now and for years to come."

The fires started in Henvey Inlet Territory and are believed to be human-caused.

This story was originally published by the Parry Sound North Star. It is being reprinted with permission.


Comments

Verified reader

If you would like to apply to become a verified commenter, please fill out this form.