Scorched earth and debris left in wake of wildfire at Namaygoosisagagun First Nation

Officials with Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources put the active number of wildfires burning in the north at 180, with seven new blazes sparked yesterday. Aerial photographs have shown the devastation in one northern Ontario First Nation as a wildfire tore through the region last week. The photos show scorched earth and debris where buildings once stood in Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, also known as Collins First Nation, whose residents fled without help from the province. First Nations leaders have said the Ontario government left communities to fend for themselves without timely support for evacuations, and are calling for a public inquiry into the provincial response to the wildfires that continue to devastate swaths of forest. They are also calling for an independent investigation into the province’s emergency response and handling of the wildfires that have destroyed Namaygoosisagagun and Whitewater First Nation over the course of a week. “The province’s Public Inquiries Act is meant to investigate matters of public interest,” said Wilfred King, Chief of Gull Bay First Nation at a news conference in Thunder Bay on Tuesday. “The lack of communication and evacuation support should horrify all Canadians, and our community was on its own,” King said. “The federal government has responsibility here too,” King continued. “We won’t accept any jurisdictional disputes. In the year 2026, how could this happen, and more importantly, how do we make sure it never happens again?” Earlier this week at a separate news conference, Premier Doug Ford said his government did everything it could to respond to the wildfires. The province has said some of the blazes spread so quickly they were only seen once they were dangerously close to First Nations. Ford has told wildfire evacuees not to return to their homes, and on Wednesday, Ontario Provincial Police said anyone found in areas under closure orders could face hundreds of dollars in fines, as well as three demerit points on their driver’s licence for failing to obey road signs. Read more: Chiefs in Ontario call for public inquiry into province’s wildfire response Namaygoosisagagun First Nation in northern Ontario surrounded by wildfire as members flee in boats AFN chiefs approve emergency resolution calling for support on northern Ontario fires Continue Reading