Highway 631 closes again as forest fire moves within 10 km of White River

The highway between White River and Hornepayne, Ont., has closed again as large wildfires burn in the area.

Wawa fires two and tree ignited over the weekend, according to the province, it covers over 100 hectares, and is located six kilometres west of White River.

Wawa 3, meanwhile, has grown to cover 4,700 hectares and is nine kilometres east of White River. Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry reported Wawa 3 being just 800 hectares in size.

The fires prompted another closure of Highway 631 between White River and Hornepayne on Tuesday afternoon. It was the second time the highway had closed this week: it was also shut down Monday evening, and re-opened shortly before noon on Tuesday.

It was closed again beginning about 2 p.m. Tuesday. Officials say the latest updates are being posted to Ontario 511 and on the Ontario Provincial Police social media feeds. 

"Basically what it comes down to is a safety issue," said Ashley Nickle, community safety and media relations officer for Superior East OPP. "Whether or not motorists and any road users can safely use the road."

"In this case, the fire is not yet under control and it is producing large amounts of smoke resulting in near-zero visibility. So that's a concern," Nickle said. "The second concern is that, at at least one location, at one point the fire was observed to actually jump across the highway."

"If the fire is jumping back and forth across the highway, that is obviously leading to some extremely dangerous conditions."

Nickle said anyone travelling through the area should take some precautions.

"If it's non-urgent travel, if it's something that can be rescheduled, we do recommend that people reschedule their travel plans," she said. "We do not know how long it will take to get this fire under control. It may be hours, it may be a matter of days."

Earlier today, police warned of reduced visibility due to smoke on Highway 17 south of White River, near Depew River.

Highway 17 remains open, with officers on scene monitoring the situation, according to OPP.

As the highway reopens, the two fires in the Wawa District continue to burn.

Both are listed as not under control by Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.