Thunder Bay, Ont., arena turned wildfire evacuation shelter remains vacant

THUNDER BAY — Drinks, snacks and diapers were laid out on the tables.

More than a dozen people, some wearing Canadian Red Cross vests, sat on chairs, busy with their laptops or chatting with each other by the wall.

Two employees of the Loomex Group, the company helping with the wildfire evacuation operation in northern Ontario, waited at a table on the other side of the gigantic hall’s entrance.

Everyone and everything at the Fort William Gardens arena in Thunder Bay, Ont., was ready to welcome those fleeing the wildfires tearing through multiple communities.

But as of Monday evening, no one had registered to stay at the arena turned emergency shelter. More than 150 green cots were spread out across the venue’s sprawling floor — none of them occupied.

Daina Proctor, executive vice-president for the Loomex Group, said Tuesday afternoon that the spaces were still vacant.

“I’m not aware of it changing … I am aware that the need continues to be a possibility,” she said in a phone interview. “So for as long as there may be somebody that needs to come and lay their head down, it is there.”

Premier Doug Ford, who came by the arena Saturday as he visited Thunder Bay, said the provincially led centre would provide accommodation, food, and medical services to those displaced by the wildfires.

The centre opened late last week, before the premier’s visit, Proctor said.

While evacuees have stopped by to inquire what services and supports are available at the site, they haven’t decided to stay there, she said.

“We can appreciate that maybe not all family members want to stay there for the prolonged aspect of this situation and this evacuation,” she said, adding some are asking to go somewhere with bedrooms or more private space.

The arena doesn’t need to be filled to fulfil its purpose, she said.

“The province makes a determination to be ready and that’s exactly what the site is for … to be ready should it be needed,” she said.

“I’m proud of the team for holding the site together and making sure it’s serving the community, and in some ways, I’m quite happy that the communities haven’t had to mass evacuate.”

Proctor said Loomex is also running sites in Kapuskasing and Timmins as part of its response to the wildfires.

More than a dozen areas, mostly First Nation communities, are under mandatory evacuation orders as fires continue to burn thousands of kilometres of thick forests in northern Ontario, sending out thick smoke that has blanketed much of the province and beyond.

Officials say more than 1,800 people have fled their communities due to the wildfires.

Thunder Bay, the closest urban centre to massive fires in northwestern Ontario, is hosting at least 500 people who are staying in hotels and motels across the city of roughly 130,000 people.

Evacuees are also transiting through Thunder Bay International Airport to Toronto and Niagara Falls.

The arena is owned by the City of Thunder Bay.

“To support ongoing response efforts, the city has provided Fort William Gardens to the province to prepare as an evacuation hub for evacuees arriving from the airport should additional capacity be required,” the city said in a statement Monday.

“The site has been fully set up and is ready to receive evacuees if the need arises.”

It said Loomex was also managing two more reception and accommodation centres in Thunder Bay to support those fleeing the fires.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2026.

Sharif Hassan, The Canadian Press