Timmins Nine forest fire flares up again

Water tanker planes and at least one helicopter were back on the job this evening over the fire known as Timmins Nine, the forest fire east of Schumacher. Smoke and flames were spotted by Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources spotter aircraft early Thursday evening and two tankers and a helicopter began dropping water in an area near one of the hydro line corridors between Schumacher and South Porcupine.
The problem didn’t last long as the water bombing effort lasted only about an hour. At least three MNR forest fire fighting crews were on the ground in the area, also doing fire suppression.
By about 8:30 p.m., MNR crews began pulling back and the water tankers were sent back to the Timmins airport.
The helicopter returned briefly to a remote area east of Timmins where the MNR fire crews have set up a base camp.
The camp is an area where the helicopter can refuel, as can the MNR heli-attack crews who are actually camped out there, living in sleeping bags and tents.
As MNR official explained that the fire teams are kept at the base camp, on alert in case they’re needed quickly for any further outbreak of fire.
This story and the photos are also posted on our regular Timmins Times news website: www.timminstimes.com where the photo server problems experienced on May 19 have been fixed.
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