{"id":806709,"date":"2026-07-16T23:56:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T23:56:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/806709\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T23:56:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T23:56:24","slug":"members-of-first-nation-destroyed-by-northwestern-ontario-wildfire-helped-each-other-escape-by-boat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/806709\/","title":{"rendered":"Members of First Nation destroyed by northwestern Ontario wildfire helped each other escape by boat"},"content":{"rendered":"

Miiyah Paavola received a call earlier this week from her mother telling her that the entire community of Namaygoosisagagun First Nation in northwestern Ontario needed to evacuate due to a wildfire, but not to panic.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo of course, I panicked,\u201d said the 15-year-old daughter of Chief Helen Paavola, who was in Ottawa at the time.<\/p>\n

Namaygoosisagagun, also known as Collins First Nation, is west of Armstrong, about 250 kilometres north of Thunder Bay. It has 130 registered members, but the number of people living in the community fluctuates.<\/p>\n

On Monday, just over two dozen people were in the First Nation when a wildfire quickly approached the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve never seen a fire that big. It was angry. It was moving fast. The wind really did not help,\u201d Miiyah said.<\/p>\n

Word quickly spread as the smoke and flames grew closer. Community members, including Scott Frank and Lyndon Paavola, went door to door to tell everyone to pack a bag and head to the beach.<\/p>\n

WATCH | CN train crew surrounded by flames as wildfires sweep northern Ontario:\"\"<\/p>\n

CN train crew surrounded by flames as wildfires sweep northern Ontario<\/p>\n

A CN crew captured dramatic video of wildfire flames nearly engulfing their train in northern Ontario, where at least 150 wildfires have destroyed homes, forced evacuations and unleashed smoke thick enough to make Toronto’s air quality among the worst in the world.<\/p>\n

For Miiyah, that meant grabbing her two chihuahuas and telling her friends to hurry up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was within a matter of minutes where it went from just smoke to open flames just around the corner from us,\u201d Frank said. \u201cAdrenalin definitely took over.\u201d<\/p>\n

After boarding a handful of boats \u2014 stuffed to the brim with people and pets \u2014 community members drove across the lake as their entire First Nation burned to the ground behind them. Everyone got out safely.<\/p>\n

\"AFlames and smoke are seen above Collins First Nation west of Armstrong on Monday. The entire community escaped using a handful of boats. (Submitted by Wayne Wastaken)<\/p>\n

During this time, Chief Paavola was at the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Annual General Assembly in the nation’s capital. She tried to keep in contact with community members over the phone, but the service kept cutting out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a time where it was just that silence, where I didn’t even know if anybody survived,\u201d Paavola said. \u201cIt’s a miracle that my members are alive today.\u201d<\/p>\n

After getting off the boats, \u201cit was a race to make it to the 527 highway,\u201d Frank said. \u201cThat fire was right behind us the whole way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AChief Helen Paavola of Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, seen in Thunder Bay, on Wednesday, says she’s proud of community members for ensuring everyone got out of the First Nation safely. (Sarah Law\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Evacuees are now staying in hotels in Thunder Bay. More than a dozen communities are under mandatory evacuation orders as of Thursday<\/a>, and the city has run out of room to accommodate more people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey survived it, but now we have nothing,\u201d the chief said. \u201cThe whole community burned down within less than an hour.\u201d<\/p>\n

The wildfire affecting Namaygoosisagagun\u202fFirst Nation,\u202fArmstrong and\u202fWhitesand\u202fFirst Nation was more than 350,000 hectares large as of Thursday, according to Ontario\u2019s Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services.<\/p>\n

\u2018They have a duty to help us\u2019<\/p>\n

As more than 175 wildfires burn across Ontario, Paavola is pushing for the provincial and federal governments to step up to support her people, who have no home to return to.<\/p>\n

However, this hasn\u2019t been easy; Namaygoosisagagun is still in the process of becoming recognized as an official First Nation.<\/p>\n

\"FourAmong the young people from Namaygoosisagagun First Nation who’ve been impacted by the wildfire include Monique McGuire, 16, Miiyah Paavola, 15, Chance Paavola, 13, and Tanner Carne, 16, left to right. (Marc Doucette\/CBC)<\/p>\n

\u201cThat shouldn’t stop them from helping us,\u201d Paavola said. \u201cThey have a duty to help us.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Thursday morning, the Ontario government issued a formal Request for Assistance to the federal government<\/a> \u201cto be prepared to expedite the deployment of federal resources to support evacuations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis includes possible Canadian Armed Forces deployments,\u201d said Jill Dunlop<\/a>, Ontario\u2019s minister of emergency preparedness and response.<\/p>\n

A statement issued Wednesday from Prime Minister Mark Carney said<\/a> Ottawa is on top of what’s happening in northwestern Ontario.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur government is in close contact with provincial, municipal, and Indigenous partners and stands ready to provide any additional support as needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

WATCH | Teens describe fleeing wildfires by boat:\"\"<\/p>\n

Teens describe fleeing wildfires by boat<\/p>\n

Four teens narrowly escaped the raging wildfires burning in Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, also known as Collins First Nation, west of Armstrong, Ont. They describe escaping the fires – which burned their entire community to the ground – by boat.Community determined to rebuild<\/p>\n

Alvin Fiddler is grand chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), a political-territorial organization that represents 49 First Nations across Treaties 9 and 5.<\/p>\n

Among his main concerns is the lack of infrastructure in Ontario\u2019s far north to facilitate firefighting efforts and large-scale evacuations.<\/p>\n

\"AAlvin Fiddler, grand Chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, is shown in a file photo. Fiddler says he’s concerned about the lack of infrastructure in Ontario\u2019s far north to facilitate firefighting efforts and large-scale evacuations. (Sarah Law\/CBC)<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of our airports are limited in size, and the capacity to be able to accommodate bigger aircraft to fly in and to fly people out in high numbers is very challenging,\u201d Fiddler told CBC News on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to make sure that every resource is available to our communities for them to be safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

NAN has also raised concerns<\/a> about highway closures and telecommunication breakdowns affecting people\u2019s ability to access essential health-care in the region.<\/p>\n

\"TwoScott Frank and Lyndon Paavola, left to right, of Namaygoosisagagun First Nation helped lead their fellow community members to safety on Monday as a wildfire threatened just over two dozen people there. (Marc Doucette\/CBC)<\/p>\n

\u201cOur main priority is to prevent loss of life at the community level and also at the host sites where these community members will be taken,\u201d said Fiddler.<\/p>\n

Anishinabek Nation, which represents 39 First Nations in Ontario, has set up supports for members of Namaygoosisagagun First Nation in Thunder Bay and is collecting donations on the community\u2019s behalf.<\/p>\n

Chief Paavola said she’s proud of her people for looking after one another.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey’re my heroes,\u201d she said of those who led the evacuation. \u201cThey risked their lives to make sure that everyone was accounted for.\u201d<\/p>\n

The people of Namaygoosisagagun\u202fFirst Nation are unique, living off the land and water in homes they built themselves. Though their future remains uncertain, the chief said her First Nation is determined to rebuild.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is our home,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are gonna go home.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Miiyah Paavola received a call earlier this week from her mother telling her that the entire community of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":806710,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,44],"class_list":["post-806709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=806709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806709\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/806710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=806709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=806709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=806709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}