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Happy Saturday, Thunder Bay! A warm weekend is finally here after weeks of smoke. In today's issue: police search for an escaped prisoner south of the city, a local family speaks out after an alleged Canada Day hate crime, wildfires shut down beloved Quetico Park, and the Border Cats catch fire on the road. Plus your week-ahead events and today's forecast. ☀️
In this Harbour Beat Issue…
🚓 Police search for an escaped prisoner south of the city
🤝 A family speaks out after an alleged Canada Day hate crime
🔥 Wildfires shut down beloved Quetico Park
⚾ Border Cats catch fire and sweep a doubleheader
Trivia: How many hearts does an octopus have? (Answer at the bottom!)
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Your week-ahead guide to Thunder Bay. ✅ The smoke has eased and a warm weekend is here — a great stretch to get back outside. (Regional fires are still burning, so a wind shift could still change an outdoor plan.)
Saturday, July 25
JUL 25 · Bay & Algoma Buskers Festival — 12–9 p.m. · 📍 Bay & Algoma neighbourhood (outdoor) · Free. World-class street performers, food and local crafters — continues Sunday 12–5 p.m. · 📅 Add to Calendar
JUL 25 · Stan Rogers: A Matter of Heart — 2 p.m. · 📍 Magnus Theatre, 10 Algoma St S · Magnus's acclaimed musical tribute to the Canadian folk legend · 📅 Add to Calendar
Sunday, July 26
JUL 26 · Bay & Algoma Buskers Festival (Day 2) — 12–5 p.m. · 📍 Bay & Algoma neighbourhood (outdoor) · Free. The festival's final afternoon of buskers, eats and crafts · 📅 Add to Calendar
JUL 26 · Northwood Hills 5K — 10 a.m.–12 p.m. · 📍 Northwood (community run) · A friendly neighbourhood run and walk · 📅 Add to Calendar
Monday, July 27
JUL 27 · Dawson Diner Monday Night Cruise-In — 6:30–8 p.m. · 📍 Dawson Diner · Classic cars, chrome and comfort food to kick off the week · 📅 Add to Calendar
Wednesday, July 29
JUL 29 · Live on the Waterfront — 6–9 p.m. · 📍 Marina Park (outdoor) · Free. A pop, soul & R&B night headlined by Thunder Bay's own Preston Pablo, with Avery Raquel and Dirty Blonde · 📅 Add to Calendar
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✅ NO ACTIVE WEATHER ALERTS
Environment Canada has no alerts posted for Thunder Bay. Air quality is in the normal range — though a little wildfire smoke could still drift back on a wind shift, so sensitive groups can keep an eye on it.
🌤️ Saturday, July 25 — Thunder Bay
26°C
Humidex 31 · Overnight low 14°C · Wind W gusting 40 km/h
Morning showers, then sun & cloud · 60% chance of showers · UV 8 (very high)
A warm but unsettled Saturday. Early showers — with a risk of a morning thunderstorm — should taper off before midday, giving way to a mix of sun and cloud and a lingering 60% chance of a passing shower. Look for a high near 26°C (Humidex 31), west winds gusting to 40 km/h, and a very high UV index of 8 — sunscreen weather once the clouds break. Cooler and cloudier Sunday, with a high around 21°C. Full forecast and any new alerts at Environment Canada.
Police search for an escaped prisoner south of the city
Thunder Bay police and OPP spent Friday searching for Anthony Patrick Frizzell, 65, who reportedly escaped custody at the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre. Both forces urged drivers in the city's south end and along Highway 61 — especially between Wilderness Road and Chippewa Road — not to pick up hitchhikers. Anyone who spots Frizzell is asked not to approach him and to call 911, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
A family speaks out after an alleged Canada Day hate crime
A Thunder Bay man injured in an alleged hate-motivated attack on Canada Day is urging others to report such incidents, after police charged a local man. The victim — whose wife and mother, both wearing the hijab, were with him — said the family, of Palestinian descent, was targeted with anti-Muslim slurs. The Thunder Bay Police hate crime unit made an arrest on July 15. Amid the ordeal, he says an outpouring of support from neighbours, the mosque and the wider community “carried us through.” Timothy Cambly, 41, faces several charges; none have been proven in court.
Wildfires shut down beloved Quetico Park
For the first time anyone can remember, Quetico Provincial Park has closed to all visitors as wildfires burn more than 71,000 hectares inside the famed canoeing wilderness near Atikokan. Darryl Blazino, chair of the Friends of Quetico Park, calls it “pretty painful,” noting the flames are reaching popular areas like Pickerel Lake that draw paddlers from Thunder Bay. A reopening is proposed for July 29 but will be reassessed that day. “It'll all come back,” he says — “it's just going to take a really long time.”
Border Cats catch fire, sweep a doubleheader
After a rough, smoke-disrupted stretch, the Thunder Bay Border Cats are rolling. On the road in St. Cloud, they swept a doubleheader — Jimmy Pelletier belted a grand slam and the Cats erupted for eight runs across the seventh and eighth innings in the nightcap, after taking the opener 8–5. It's a welcome hot streak for a club that lost six home dates to poor air quality earlier this month.
Meme of the Day
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Trivia answer: Three. An octopus has three hearts — two pump blood through the gills, while the third circulates it to the rest of the body. That third heart actually stops beating when the octopus swims, which is part of why these creatures often prefer to crawl. Their blood is blue, too, thanks to the copper-rich molecule hemocyanin.