Updated August 8, 2018
As fire crews from all over the country and abroad continue their efforts to battle forest fires across the province, good news is emerging.
“There has been good progress with containing the fires,” Shane McCool, fire information officer for the ministry, says. “Weekend rain helped establish a nearly complete containment of the perimeter of Parry Sound 33.”
“There are also reports that residents of Henvey Inlet First Nations returning home,” McCool says. Henvey Inlet First Nations is just south of Pickerel River and the residents have been evacuated since July 21.
Once the perimeter is complete and growth has completely stopped, the MNRF will be able to update the fire status to “held.” The mapped fire area currently sits at 11,362 hectares.
#Forest #Firefighters and #FireRangers across #Ontario are working hard to supress active #ForestFires. Here are a few recent photos from across the the province. pic.twitter.com/tIvAnDaANW
— ONForestFires (@ONforestfires) August 5, 2018
Elsewhere,the Lady Evelyn fire cluster is now “being held.” At 27, 285 hectares, the MNRF reports that the fire has not grown in size for two weeks.
“With help from mother nature, we have made excellent progress and there has been no recent growth,” McCool says.
Although we have recorded some recent precipitation in the area of #ParrySound33, #NorthBay72 and near other fires, travel restrictions on land and waterways are still in place in several districts because fires are still active. Check out https://t.co/XPnoZFTS24 for details. pic.twitter.com/TKf2p3QFFy
— ONForestFires (@ONforestfires) August 6, 2018
The evacuation order issued by the Municipality of Killarney for many communities near the French River still remain in effect.
There are still 116 active fires across Ontario, with only 18 of them being out of control. According to the ministry, 971 fires have occurred in Ontario so far this year, compared to the 217 of last year.
Related Story A family home hangs in the balance as Parry Sound 33 fire rages on
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