Fast

Fast-moving fires destroy homes in northern Ontario as crews fight flames

Fires prompt evacuation orders for several First Nations communities

‘You could just about taste it’: Armstrong, Ont., evacuee describes thick wildfire smoke

Winds out of the northwest could fan the flames of dozens of forest fires that have already devastated communities in northern Ontario.

The community of Armstrong can expect widespread smoke, with wind gusts of up to 40 km/h for most of Thursday, said Environment Canada.

Ontario has asked the federal government for help with evacuating people, Jill Dunlop, the province's emergency preparedness minister, said in a letter to her federal counterpart.

The province wants Ottawa to ensure it can deploy aircraft and crews in 24 hours or less if needed as the situation is expected to escalate rapidly.

The fires have prompted evacuation orders for several communities, including Armstrong, Lac La Croix First Nation, Whitesand First Nation, Gull Bay First Nation and Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation.

One fast-moving blaze has damaged and destroyed homes and buildings on Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, also known as Collins First Nation, north of Thunder Bay.

Forest fires in northwestern Ontario: What to know

Premier Doug Ford has said crews are hard at work fighting more than 180 wildfires across northern Ontario, and that the province would spare no expense in keeping people safe.

In a video posted online Wednesday, Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles criticized Ford over the wildfires, saying he ignored provincial climate commitments and shrank Ontario's wildland firefighting force.

There were 176 active fires in Ontario, with 134 of them in the northwest region, the provincial Natural Resources Ministry said Thursday. Of those, 62 of them were out of control.

How to protect yourself from wildfire smoke

Air quality warnings are also in place from Thunder Bay to Kingston, London and Windsor, with conditions in some areas expected to persist until Friday.

The smoke has reached parts of the northern United States as well.