‘It was far away until it wasn’t’: Lodge owner details harrowing northern Ontario fires
A lodge owner in northern Ontario details the harrowing experience of fleeing wildfires that destroyed several local businesses. The region is currently battling dozens of out-of-control fires, forcing evacuations and causing significant property loss.
Why it matters
The report illustrates the direct, devastating impact of the current wildfire season on small businesses and rural communities in Canada.
Rylie Isaacs Laforge reported a northern Ontario wildfire to the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) on June 30. Then she watched it creep closer and closer before she and her family were forced to flee this week.
Her lodge was narrowly saved, but others in the area were not so lucky.
“It was one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen,” Isaacs Laforge told Global News. “Smoke rolling over our heads, knowing that if that smoke came down, that we wouldn’t be able to see or breathe.”
“The smoke has been rolling around the area for a week and it was far away, it was far away until it wasn’t far away and it was on us.”
Isaacs Laforge owns Lac Des Mille Lodge, a year-round resort just outside of Upsala, Ont., approximately 160 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay. She runs the resort with her husband and three kids.
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