With the help of Mother Nature and friends as far as Mexico, firefighters in northeast Ontario extinguished seven fires in the area Wednesday. The number of active fires has dropped to 49, with 16 still not under control. “We are getting a little bit of a help from Mother Nature, especially in the northern areas,” said Shayne McCool, a fire information officer for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. Late Monday there were 55 active fires in the northeastern portion of the province and 21 were out of control. On Wednesday, two new fires popped up in the area near Hearst, Ont., and another near Longlac, Ont. But firefighters have been able to make progress in preventing further expansion of many of the fires partly in thanks to rain, cloud cover and humid weather, but also with help of more than 500 extra staff from out of the province. Fire crews from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Mexico joined crews from a number of Canadian provinces to tackle the blazes. Some fires remain a challenge for crews, such as Parry Sound 33, which has expanded beyond the earlier reported size of 5,612 hectares. Officials will update the size of the blaze within the next couple days. “Due to some of the wind conditions we saw fueled by the lake effect, the fire did experience some growth yesterday,” said McCool, noting that they made progress in the northern and southern parts of the fire, but weather has been an issue in the region. The area has seen a lack of rain and gusts of wind reaching 20 to 25 km/hr. Crews have been using state-of-the-art resources to combat the fires across the province, including water bombers. They have also utilized helicopter “bucketing techniques” to assist ground crews, who mainly utilize pumps and hoses to try and contain blazes around the perimeter. Evacuation recommendations announced July 21 remain in place for boat access areas in Parry Sound, and evacuation alerts for those with road access to residences or cottages. Though officials have determined that most of the fires were started by lightning strikes, some have been determined to be caused by humans, which McCool said can be either recreational or industrial activity.<doc-sep>Crews fighting forest fires in northern Ontario are receiving help from other provinces, the U.S. and Mexico as they try to contain a cluster of blazes after days of hot and humid weather. Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry said in a release that, as of Sunday afternoon, 63 forest fires were burning in the northern and northeastern parts of the province, with 28 of them out of control. The ministry said 35 fires are either being held or being observed. Water bombers prepare to drop on lightning-caused fires smoldering near Lake Temagami. (Const. Tom Saville/Temagami First Nation) Isabelle Chenard, a fire information officer for the ministry, says 775 fires have consumed 181,000 hectares of the province this year. That number has grown more than 75 per cent since this time last year, she explained. Since Canada Day, Chenard says, a swath of fires have been started by lightning strikes. "Several waves of lightning that have passed through the northeast side of the province with very little precipitation," she added. Out-of-province help, in the form of crews and equipment, has come from B.C.. Alberta, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and Newfoundland. Minnesota and Wisconsin have also contributed personnel. And more help is expected to arrive on Monday. The ministry said 104 people from Mexico arrived in Sudbury on Saturday — a number that includes five crews of 20 firefighters, two agency representatives and two team leaders. Evacuations The fires have prompted the evacuation of some communities in northern Ontario. Evacuation orders have been issued for the Key Harbour and Killarney areas, as well as an area from the western and northern borders of the French River Provincial Park, east to Highway 69 — a portion of the Trans-Canada Highway — and south to the Key River. An evacuation order for all residents with boat access in the western and northern regions of French River Provincial Park was put in place Saturday, the ministry said. (Jennifer Turner) The fire dubbed Parry Sound 33, affecting 5,000 hectares, is still listed as out of control — blanketing the region in heavy smoke. The blaze has prompted mandatory evacuation orders on Saturday for 50 homes that are only accessible by boat. Many evacuees are seasonal cottage-goers or campers who have fled to hotels in Sudbury, or have gone home, said James Palmer, whose family has owned the Hartley Bay Marina for 65 years. He was among those pushed out of the area Saturday but he hopes to return soon to check up on the property. "Our business is still standing, but that could change at a moment's notice," he said. "It's extremely stressful, because not only is it my home, it's my place of business." He noted the marina is one of the only access points to the mainland from campgrounds. Killarney Mayor Virginia Rook called the fire's encroachment on the municipality scary and fears it could claim her home and camp if crews don't get it under control quickly. "Hopefully we get some rain soon," she told CBC News. Kimberly Mallett tweeted this photo of the forest fire near Key River from her cottage. (Kimberly Mallett/ Twitter) The ministry said one of the largest fires, known as North Bay 72, is now 21,516 hectares. It is located near McGiffin Lake within Lady Evelyn Smoothwater Provincial Park. The fire is considered part of what the ministry calls the Lady Evelyn fire cluster, north of Temagami. "Heavy helicopters continued to bucket water onto this fire, coordinating with crews on the ground," the province said in the release. High temperatures, low humidity and gusty winds meant that fire was active on Saturday, pushing into the interior green islands. Smoke blankets region, parts of Manitoba Plumes of smoke, filling the air in parts of northern Ontario, as the fires continue to burn is causing concern, the ministry noted. "Many Ontario residents have reported smoke drift in their communities," the ministry said. Wind in the northwestern region of the province has carried the smoke from fires in the Kenora area further west into Manitoba. "Smoky conditions are expected to continue when fires are active, until weather patterns change," said the ministry. "We've had a lot of smoke," said Renee Germain who lives in Warren, Ont., located between Sudbury and North Bay. Though she's not in the evacuation zone, she's offering her property as a refuge for those with horses and livestock. Johanne Rioux tweeted this photo on Saturday, saying: 'Smoke coming in on Ranger Bay in the Alban, Ont., area from the Key River.' (Johanne Rioux/Twitter) People in the French River and Britt, in the Parry Sound district, are looking to move their animals due to the smoke, she said. She's reached out to a few people. "You never know, you may not have any smoke right now, but in an hour from now, you could get smoked out," she said. "We're hoping that we can help other farms, or other homes, save a few animals," she said. "If we can help other people who are impacted, I really hope that people out here follow suit." Germain said the warnings about fires are unsettling, and she's concerned about animals getting left behind. "Everything is very, very dry. We haven't had much rain at all," she said. "We have new fires that are starting every single day."<doc-sep>The forest fire season heating up in northwestern Ontario has caused smoky conditions in many communities in the northwestern reaches of the province. "Yesterday was apocalyptic," said Rhonda Beckman, who lives in Red Lake, Ont. "Today's not so bad." "The sky was this bizarre orangy-brown colour and there was just billowing of, it was smoke, just billowing smoke kind of surrounding us everywhere." Beckman described the air in the community at the northern end of Highway 105 as "thick." "Everything is completely still, it's stagnant, it's sticky." Beckman said some people in the community pack bags when smoke inundates the area, with many still remembering Red Lake Fire 14, the fire that burned close to the community in 1980, forcing an evacuation that lasted 10 days. That evacuation was, at the time, the largest evacuation in Canada during peace time. Beckman joked the smoke in the community is a precursor to the large festival slated for Red Lake this weekend. "It's like ribfest for Norseman Days has already started. It's so smoky." Environment Canada issued a special air quality statement for Red Lake, Ear Falls, Pickle Lake, Sandy Lake and Pikangikum, noting poor air quality and reduced visibility because of the smoke. The Northwestern Health Unit also issued an air quality advisory for Red Lake and Ear Falls. The health unit notes people at the most risk - children, the elderly, pregnant women, people with heart of lung conditions and people with active and physical jobs are advised to reduce the amount of time they spend in the forest fire smoke and the amount of air breathed in.<doc-sep>
One of the largest forest fires in northeastern Ontario, Parry Sound 33, continues to get closer to a segment of the Trans-Canada Highway despite hundreds of firefighters working to stop it from spreading. Officials with the province’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry said Monday that the Parry Sound 33 fire had been expanding to the northeast and now comprised more than 8,200 hectares of land. “We have seen some growth on Parry Sound 33,” ministry spokesperson Shayne McCool told CTV’s Your Morning. The Parry Sound 33 fire was ignited July 18 near the community of Henvey Inlet, Ont., which is located approximately 100 kilometres south of Sudbury. Flames from Parry Sound 33 were said to be six kilometres from the Highway 69 portion of the Trans-Canada Highway as of Monday evening. It’s one of 139 fires burning in northern Ontario as of Monday evening. Of those, 44 were considered “out of control.” Two fires were extinguished in the northeast on Sunday, McCool said, but two others were discovered. Both of the new fires were less than half a hectare in size. While the cause of Parry Sound 33 has not been determined, the vast majority of Ontario’s forest fires are believed to have been caused by lightning striking forests after lengthy periods without significant rainfall. “Dry conditions in the forested areas have caused those fires to be ignited fairly easily,” McCool said. Grundy Lake Provincial Park, which sits on the east side of the highway, was evacuated over the weekend due to concerns about the fire’s growth. Approximately 800 campers were told to leave the park. Several other provincial parks have been declared temporarily off-limits due to forest fires, as has the French River. Other priority fires for crews in northeastern Ontario include the Lady Evelyn Fire Cluster northeast of Sudbury, which is considered out of control and encompasses more than 27,000 hectares, and a similarly uncontrolled, nearly 5,000-hectare fire north of Cochrane. A 2,500-hectare fire near Temigami is considered to be under control. Hundreds of Mexican firefighters assisting More than 556 firefighters from across Canada, the U.S. and Mexico are working to control and extinguish the fires. McCool said more than 300 firefighters and support staff from Mexico were taking part in the firefighting effort. More firefighters and equipment are expected to arrive in the province this week. Officials in Alberta have said one firefighter from that province died while battling a fire near Red Lake, in northwestern Ontario. Nearly 100 fires were burning in the province’s northwest as of Monday morning.