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A signboard displays messages related to wildfires on Arthur Street West in Thunder Bay on\u00a0July 15, 2026. Photo by: Arlyn McAdorey \/ Canada’s National Observer<\/p>\nKatlin and Conrad G. Nodin, a sister and brother from Whitesand First Nation, arrived Tuesday morning in Thunder Bay, which has become the primary evacuation hub for those fleeing the flames.<\/p>\n
They just returned from fighting a blaze in Atikokan, two hours west. Despite the ongoing danger, the siblings were eager to return home to assess the situation, fueled by a worry that the government did not do enough to protect the structures that make up their community.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They\u2019re not the only ones.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leaders of the Whitesand First Nation, which evacuated ahead of a fast-moving wildfire on Monday night, took Ontario\u2019s Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) to task at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe province stepped up way too late,\u201d Darian Baskatawang, senior advisor at Whitesand First Nation, said. The province\u2019s response \u201cdid not reflect the urgency of the situation\u201d and the Nation\u2019s chief and council are \u201cdeeply disappointed\u201d MNR was so slow to act, according to a news release from the Nation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The release said the community had to repeatedly ask the MNR to issue a mandatory evacuation notice. Throughout the day, the province told Whitesand the smoke was coming from more distant fires and there was no immediate threat. The release cites a quote from the MNR that they \u201cdidn\u2019t see the fire\u201d that tore through the neighbouring community of Collins \u201cuntil it was too late,\u201d due to a strain on resources with many fires burning in the area.<\/p>\n
A signboard displays messages related to wildfires on Arthur Street West in Thunder Bay on\u00a0July 15, 2026. Photo by: Arlyn McAdorey \/ Canada’s National Observer<\/p>\n
On one hand, provincial officials were telling Whitesand there was no need to worry about the fires, but then five hours later conceded that \u201cwe might consider evacuating,\u201d Baskatawang said. This delay had tangible impacts on people: one community member told the press he didn\u2019t even have time to grab a pair of socks as he rushed to evacuate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy is the MNR so under-resourced and understaffed that they couldn’t see fires that are happening so close to different communities?\u201d Baskatawang said, adding that one of the evacuated towns, Armstrong, actually houses a\u00a0MNR fire attack base<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThey don’t have the resources necessary to protect full towns, even where their bases are. So if they can\u2019t protect a base or a town that has one of their bases, what are they doing?\u201d Baskatawang asked.<\/p>\n Canada\u2019s National Observer\u00a0reported in June<\/a> that the Ford government had earmarked just $150 million for wildfires this year, despite spending double that much last year \u2014 an under-budgeting decision that wildland firefighter Noah Freedman said left crews scrambling.\u00a0<\/p>\n Canada\u2019s National Observer emailed the MNR, Ministry of Emergency Preparedness and Response and Ministry of Energy and Mines for comment on the First Nation\u2019s criticisms. No one from the Government of Ontario acknowledged receipt of the request. Additional requests from\u00a0CNO made through other media contacts also went unacknowledged.<\/p>\n The wildfires are also fanning flames at the US-Canada border, as the smoke (from Canada and northeastern US) chokes American cities for the second year in a row. Some US lawmakers have even threatened Canadian sovereignty over the persistent problem, with four Republican members of Congress\u00a0calling the wildfires<\/a> \u201ca crisis that Canada has the tools to prevent and has chosen not to\u201d in a repeat of the misinformation-laden letter released by a different group of Republican lawmakers<\/a> last year. \u00a0<\/p>\n With the provincial government keeping a low profile and a dearth of solid information, some community members told\u00a0Canada\u2019s National Observer they feel something more sinister is at play.<\/p>\n Wild speculation in an information vacuum<\/p>\n Speaking outside the Superior Inn on Wednesday, a group of three volunteer firefighters from Whitesand First Nation, who used the names Maverick, Wallace and El Gizmo, all expressed concerns about Ontario Premier Doug Ford\u2019s move to create\u00a0Special Economic Zones<\/a> in northern Ontario, which would allow for expedited development of natural resource extraction and other projects, including the Ring of Fire.\u00a0<\/p>\n They fear that if their homes are gone, razed by wildfires, it will be easier for industry to start mining in their community. While there are some mining claims near Whitesand First Nation and Armstrong, the bulk of claims are further north and east in the province.<\/p>\n The young firefighters showed a video on a cellphone that appears to show satellite imagery of the fire ignitions. The video shows a line of smoke plumes rapidly appearing west of Armstrong before spreading toward the community. The three firefighters voiced suspicions about how all the fires could have started at the same time. (Fires often start close together because of the presence of widespread thunderstorms and dry conditions.)\u00a0<\/p>\n When asked about the distrust expressed by members of the community in the MNR\u2019s response, Whitesand First Nation Incident Commander Devon Wanakamik said they\u2019re \u201cnot blaming anyone,\u201d but asked, \u201cWhy isn\u2019t our community prioritized due to its size?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Wanakamik asked the community to be patient in this time of crisis.<\/p>\n \u201cI know this is scary, I know emotions are kicking in,\u201d he said. \u201cI know everyone is eager to go back to the community and assist any way they can, but we\u2019re trying to prevent a [loss of] human life. A house is replaceable; we can rebuild.\u201d<\/p>\n Theories like those floated by Maverick, Wallace and El Gizmo are often formulated as an explanation when there doesn\u2019t seem to be one, Greg Garrad, a professor at the University of British Columbia\u2019s Okanagan campus, said in an interview with\u00a0Canada\u2019s National Observer. These questions could include why volunteer firefighters weren’t allowed to defend their communities or why the evacuation order was delayed.<\/p>\n When people are left to fill in the gaps, their explanations aren\u2019t always based in fact, but \u201cthey’re giving those in a context where otherwise it’s hard to understand what happened,\u201d Garrad said. His research specializes in wildfire communication and misinformation.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s really important that these sort of anxieties, these concerns are taken seriously,\u201d he said, adding that most people want to be seen and have their concerns acknowledged. He stressed that Canada should repeal the Online News Act \u2014 which led Meta to exclude Canadian news sources from Facebook \u2014 because barring verified news sources\u00a0allows wildfire misinformation to spread freely<\/a> on Meta\u2019s platforms.<\/p>\n A pattern of mistrust<\/p>\n The community\u2019s distrust of the provincial government should be understood as part of a much longer timeline and pattern of behaviour, Anne Pasek, an associate professor at Trent University, said in a phone interview with Canada\u2019s National Observer.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a sense that these communities probably have past tension with how they’ve been treated by different higher levels of government jurisdiction,\u201d Pasek said. The Whitesand First Nation\u2019s press release directly references other tensions around the interpretation of the Indian Act and concerns about disproportionate economic burdens for evacuations, Pasek noted.<\/p>\n \u201cIt reads as a really legible way in which a disaster happens and that disaster is immediately interpreted [through the lens of] ongoing conflicts,\u201d she said. Pasek\u2019s research areas include climate communication, the environmental humanities and science and technology studies.<\/p>\n \u201cIt bears repeating that the history of settler-Indigenous relations in Ontario, in Canada writ large, has been one predominantly characterized by bad-faith actions on the part of settler governments and continued backdoor maneuvers to dispossess people of land.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n With that context, she said \u201cit would be almost absurd not to have your guard up when you hear that land is being redistricted, being put into a special economic zone, or that because of this disaster, you can’t go and access it.\u201d<\/p>\n Volunteer firefighters and community members expressed that precise frustration.<\/p>\n Three evacuees\u00a0Canada\u2019s National Observer\u00a0spoke with in Thunder Bay \u2014 JJ, Peter, and Jason, all from Armstrong \u2014 gathered outside of the Superior Inn on Thursday morning, hatching a plan to possibly drive back up to their community to check on their homes and help battle the flames. Peter, a volunteer firefighter, asked the others, \u201cdo you have a chainsaw?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t just sit here and do nothing while MNR tries to shut everything down all the fucking time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Peter knows it\u2019s dangerous, but said if everything burns, they will have nothing left. \u201cI don\u2019t care, I\u2019m going,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Whitesand First Nation\u2019s press conference took place after\u00a0Canada\u2019s National Observer\u00a0spoke with JJ, Peter, and Jason. At the press conference, the nation\u2019s spokesperson announced that 26 individuals had gone back to the community to assist the MNR, including to set up a firebreak and sprinklers.<\/p>\n Sol Mamakwa, MPP for Kiiwetinoong, west of Thunder Bay, is concerned about the lack of action from higher levels of government.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a phone interview on Wednesday, Mamakwa put it directly: \u201cNorthern Ontario is burning.\u201d<\/p>\n He feels the situation is not being taken seriously and that those living in remote communities \u2014 most of them First Nations \u2014 are not being supported by the provincial or federal governments to the degree required.\u00a0<\/p>\n First Nations are\u00a0disproportionately impacted by wildfires<\/a>; a\u00a02021 federal adaptation plan<\/a> noted that despite representing only five per cent of the population, First Nations and primarily Indigenous communities experience 42 per cent of wildland fire evacuation events.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are hearing almost nothing from the prime minister and the premier of Ontario,\u201d Mamakwa said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe exist too, we are people too.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Katlin and Conrad G. Nodin, a sister and brother from Whitesand First Nation, arrived Tuesday morning in Thunder…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":807196,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,44],"class_list":["post-807195","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\/807195","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=807195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/807195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/807196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=807195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=807195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=807195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Jade](\"https:\/\/www.nationalobserver.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/scale_width_lg_1x\/public\/img\/2026\/07\/16\/ama101.JPG?itok=HbtLCRZf\")
Jade Willoughby of Armstrong, Ontario, poses for a photograph outside of the Superior Inn in Thunder Bay on July 15, 2026. Photo by: Arlyn McAdorey \/ Canada’s National Observer<\/p>\n