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Happy Monday, Thunder Bay! Civic Holiday — sunny, 26°C, and the last quiet day before the CLE midway takes over on Wednesday. In today's issue: two of the region's biggest wildfires merge into one, blue-green algae turns up at Middle Shebandowan Lake, a hidden wetland east of the city gets bigger, and a gardener answers her phone with dirty hands and $36,915 on the line. Plus eight things worth doing between now and Friday. ☀️
In this Harbour Beat Issue…
🔥 Two big fires merge as the northwest hits 130
💧 Blue-green algae confirmed at Middle Shebandowan
🌿 A hidden wetland east of the city just got bigger
📚 A phone call in the garden, worth $36,915
Trivia: What does the “NASDAQ” in the stock exchange's name actually stand for? (Answer at the bottom!)
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Holiday Monday to close out the long weekend, then the CLE midway rolls in Wednesday. ✅ The city's fire ban and the province's restricted fire zone are both still in effect — no open fires, no fireworks, no backyard campfires. Regional wildfires are still burning and a wind shift can change the air quality fast, so check with the organizer before you head out to anything outdoors.
Monday, August 3 — Civic Holiday
AUG 3 · Festa Italiana — final day — 1 p.m.–11 p.m. · 📍 Italian Cultural Centre, 132 Algoma St. S. · Free admission · Last call on the 36th year: Italian food, live music and dancing right through the holiday · 📅 Add to Calendar
AUG 3 · Monday Evening Concerts at Waverley Park — 6:30–9 p.m. · 📍 Waverley Park, Waverley St. · Free · The Coalition for Waverley Park's weekly outdoor concert, and an easy way to end the holiday · 📅 Add to Calendar
Tuesday, August 4
AUG 4 · Summertime Movie Matinees — 1–5 p.m. · 📍 Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, 1 Paul Shaffer Dr. · Free entry · A double bill in the air conditioning: The Fantastic Four: First Steps at 1 p.m., Superman at 3 p.m. Concession open; no outside food or drink · 📅 Add to Calendar
Wednesday, August 5
AUG 5 · Canadian Lakehead Exhibition opens — from noon, running through Sunday, Aug. 9 · 📍 CLE Grounds, 425 Northern Ave. · Opening day of the 135-year-old fair: midway rides, live entertainment, games, exhibits and far too much food on a stick · 📅 Add to Calendar
AUG 5 · Live on the Waterfront — 6–9 p.m. · 📍 Marina Park Festival Area, Water St. · Free · The Wednesday-night waterfront concert series, with food vendors and the harbour behind the stage · 📅 Add to Calendar
Thursday, August 6
AUG 6 · FIRE AID! Wildfire Relief Concert — doors 7:30 p.m., music from 8 p.m. · 📍 Black Pirates Pub, 215 Red River Rd. · $10 · All-ages opening night of a three-night benefit for families and First Nations hit by this summer's fires, with five local acts on the bill · 📅 Add to Calendar
AUG 6 · Summer in the Parking Lot — from 6 p.m. · 📍 Superior Inn & Conference Centre, 555 Arthur St. W. · $7 · This week's outdoor bill: The Shapely, Razor's Edge and Blood Red Moon · 📅 Add to Calendar
Friday, August 7
AUG 7 · North Shore Dog Club shows — 9 a.m.–4 p.m., daily through Sunday · 📍 Chippewa Park, 1735 City Rd. · Free for spectators · All-breed conformation shows with pet-supply vendors and food trucks; junior handling and an eye clinic follow on the weekend · 📅 Add to Calendar
✅ NO WEATHER ALERTS — BUT THE FIRE BAN IS STILL ON
Environment Canada has no warnings posted for Thunder Bay as of Sunday evening. The city's fire ban and the province's restricted fire zone both remain in effect until further notice, though: no open-air burning, no backyard campfires, no fireworks, and all fire permits stay suspended. Propane fire tables, enclosed wood stoves and barbecues are still allowed. Latest alerts at Environment Canada.
☀️ Monday, August 3 — Thunder Bay
26°C
Humidex 31 · Overnight low 16°C
Sunny · UV 8 (very high) · Showers possible overnight
The pick of the week, and it lands on the holiday. Sunny straight through, a high of 26°C and a humidex of 31 — hot in the open, fine in the shade. The number to watch is the UV index of 8 (very high), which can burn unprotected skin in about 15 minutes, so sunscreen and a hat if you're at the park or a patio all afternoon. It turns after dark: partly cloudy with a 40 per cent chance of showers before morning and a risk of a thunderstorm, northeast wind picking up to 20 km/h around midnight, low of 16°C. Tuesday steps back to cloudy and 23°C with more showers around. Full forecast and any new alerts at Environment Canada.
Two big fires merge as the northwest hits 130
A narrow strip along the southwestern edge of Thunder Bay 54 has burned into the northern flank of Dryden 35, and the two are now being tracked as a single fire under the Dryden 35 name — 30,758 hectares. Both belong to the Rinker Lake Complex, which also includes Thunder Bay 36, still Ontario's largest recorded wildland fire at 313,930 hectares and still not under control. Fourteen crews from Ontario and Alberta plus a 20-person crew from Mexico are assigned to the complex, with an incident management team in command since July 30. Region-wide, the Ministry of Natural Resources counted 130 active fires in the northwest as of Saturday evening — eight of them new on Aug. 1 — with 30 not under control. The restricted fire zone stays in place across the entire northwest.
Blue-green algae confirmed at Middle Shebandowan
A water sample taken July 30 along the shoreline at a property on Beaver Bay Road has tested positive for blue-green algae, the Ministry of the Environment says. The Thunder Bay District Health Unit is advising people to avoid drinking the water, using it around the house, or swimming anywhere a bloom is present — and to stay out for about two weeks after a bloom disappears. Keep pets clear too; they're more likely to drink lake water and more susceptible to it. Blooms can look like green pea soup, turquoise paint or a surface scum, and some produce toxins that cause problems if swallowed, inhaled or left on skin. If you touch one, wash with soap and clean water. The health unit says blooms have historically been uncommon here but may turn up more often as water temperatures climb. Report a suspected bloom to the Ministry of the Environment at 807-475-1205 or the Spills Action Centre at 1-800-268-6060; health questions go to a public health inspector at 807-625-5900.
A hidden wetland east of the city just got bigger
The Thunder Bay Field Naturalists have bought another 140 hectares in the McTavish Wetlands Nature Reserve, bringing the protected area to 783 hectares in McTavish Township, about 50 km east of the city in the Municipality of Shuniah. Because there's no road access, most of it has never been properly surveyed — so this summer volunteers have been setting up trail cameras, running spring bird surveys and recording bat calls. Later this season they'll measure peat depth in the bog to estimate how much carbon is stored down there. There's also a new project on boreal orchids and the insects that pollinate them, run with the North American Orchid Conservation Center and Lakehead University, using solar-powered cameras to catch visitors to the flowers — night-flying moths included. The reserve is open to the public for birding and hiking, but it's genuine wilderness: no roads, no trails, no facilities, so plan accordingly. The club now looks after 24 reserves and more than 4,500 hectares across the region.
A phone call in the garden, worth $36,915
Andrea Conway was out in her garden on Friday morning when the phone rang: she'd taken the July Friends of the Thunder Bay Public Library 50/50, and the pot was $36,915. “Holy cow!” she said. “I need a minute to clean up, my hands are covered in dirt!” Most of it is getting invested — “but I have three kids, so I need to make sure they know mommy loves them” — and some is going back out to the community, along with a nice dinner for her sister. Conway brought her kids to the library when they were small and still uses it, mostly for eBooks and audiobooks. The Friends lottery has now paid out more than $668,000, with proceeds going to library programs and, right now, the revitalization of the Children's Library at Waverley — a project that will more than double the current space. The August draw is open: tickets from $10, early bird Aug. 14, grand prize Aug. 28, online or at any branch.
Meme of the Day
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Trivia answer: National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations. When it opened in 1971 the NASDAQ wasn't a trading floor at all — just a computer network that displayed dealers' price quotes, which is why the name describes a quote board rather than a marketplace.