Centennial Lake fire being held; evacuation order in place until Friday

The wildfire at Centennial Lake, 150 km west of Ottawa, is being held by firefighters, but an evacuation order remains in effect until Friday.

The fire started in the forest at Centennial Lake just after 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, quickly expanding to the shore. The fire has affected approximately 45 hectares of land in the area near Calabogie.

On Wednesday, the Township of Greater Madawaska announced a precautionary evacuation order has been extended another 48 hours to Friday at 3 p.m.

"The crews are still diligently working on the fire ground," the township said on Facebook. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, the fire is not under control.

The precautionary evacuation order covers Black Mountain Estate, Little Bay Lane, Airds Lake Road (behind Snider's Tent and Trailer Park), Snider's Tent and Trailer Park.

The municipality says fire suppression efforts are focused on hot spots and preventative measures around the perimeters of the burnt area.

By Wednesday afternoon, officials said the fire was in the status of “being held”, which means that the fire crews are moving to the clean-up stage of the burnt area.

"Crews will continue to work and to monitor the area over the coming days," the municipality said in a statement. The evacuation order remains in place.

The Township of Greater Madawaska remains in a Level 2 Fire Ban, with no burning of any kind permitted in the area.

There is no word on the cause of the fire.