While many are enjoying the long weekend with friends and family, fire crews are working hard to suppress fires throughout the province.
Three new fires were confirmed in the Northwest region yesterday and closer to home, an effort to suppress three major fires in the Northeast region continues.
Concerns had been raised that hot, dry weather and expected southwesterly winds could test the firelines of the Parry Sound 33 fire on Saturday. Yet, even with high temperatures and low humidity, crews made excellent progress.
According to an update from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, crews worked quickly to contain minimal growth of the fire on the southeast flank, south of Key River. The west side of the fire is reported to have remained quiet, and a swampy area located north-northeast near Little Canoe Channel and on the north side near the Pickerel River showed little sign of fire movement.
The Parry Sound 33 fire has now been remapped to 11,362 hectares, an increase from 11,185 hectares reported yesterday. The fire is still listed as not under control.
Today, crews have been placed in critical positions where there may be an increase of fire potential. They could be challenged by expected wind gusts of up to 50 km per hour and high temperatures.
An evacuation alert for the Alban area remains in place.
No growth was reported within the Lady Evelyn fire cluster, which remains at 27,285 hectares. Ten helicopters and approximately 200 FireRangers are assigned to this cluster. Three fires in the Pembroke fire cluster are listed as under control and one is being held.
Additional support from outside Ontario is expected to arrive in the province in the coming days. Presently, a total of 543 firefighters and support staff from across the country, as well as from the United States and Mexico are helping with the fire situation.
