KENORA — Continued new plant growth and a general "greening up" of the boreal forest will likely be of some help as two dozen wildfires continue to burn across the Northwest.
That’s according to wildfire officials with the Ministry of Natural Resources. As of its Sunday night update, the MNR’s Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services said there were 24 active fires burning in the region.
Recent precipitation and — as we get closer to the official start of summer — natural changes in the bush are helping mitigate the overall dry conditions that made the start of the 2025 fire season so busy, said Alison Bezubiak, a fire information officer with the MNR.
“Areas in the southern portion of the Northwest region have also experienced more rainfall, and this has reduced the risk of control issues with any new starts,” she said.
“Another factor is that forest fuel conditions have shifted from spring to summer conditions, meaning that forest fuels are greening up, and as that happens, they recover moisture.”
The weather has also helped in other ways, she added, with generally cooler temperatures, higher humidity and lower wind speeds.
“This trend is expected to continue,” she said. “Short and mid-range forecasts don't indicate significant drying trends that would lead to extreme fire behaviour potential.”
Still, she cautioned, people need to remain careful and follow all burning regulations, even though the MNR, and many municipalities, recently lifted their fire bans across the region.
“Lifting the (restricted fire zone) doesn't mean that we can let our guard down when it comes to preventing human-caused fires,” Bezubiak said. “We need to all remain vigilant and keep safety top-of-mind when having an outdoor fire.”
If you live in an organized municipality, Bezubiak said to make sure to check to make sure it hasn’t designed any extra restrictions on its own.
Another reason she said the MNR was able to relax fire restrictions over the weekend was due to a change in status on one of the region’s more notable fires: Kenora 20, near Ingolf and Wabaseemoong, is now classified as “being held,” with “various implementation orders and area restrictions” being removed and “significant progress” being made on it and other Kenora-area fires, Bezubiak said.
The province’s interactive fire risk map showed a generally high hazard as of Monday morning.
“So, Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services still has critical fires on the landscape that we're continuing to action, but conditions are allowing us to make good progress operationally,” she said.
“Based on the current and anticipated fire load, we have the resources and personnel available to support existing and new fire starts throughout the province.
-With files from Justin Hardy
