Village of Killarney open for business while forest fire evacuees hope for the best
People from evacuated areas still wait, but business as usual in tourist town
Other than a light haze, all was relatively normal on Wednesday in the village of Killarney, a little tourist town nestled on the southern tip of the coast of Georgian Bay.
It's part of a much larger municipality that shares the same name. Some 60 kilometres east, hundreds of residents have been forced out of their homes and cottages due to the large forest fire known as Parry Sound 33.
Firefighters from across Canada, the United States and Mexico are fighting to keep the blaze away from Highway 69.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry's fire map showed the fire had grown to just over 11,000 hectares on Wednesday evening, but stated favourable winds from the north and high humidity helped keep it about five kilometres away from the highway.
Fire information officer Matt Bell stated a planned containment fire set by crews contributed to the increase in size.
Les helicos qui luttent contre les feux de forêt sont de retour. Fin de la journée pour ces pompiers! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ParrySound33?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ParrySound33</a> <a href="https://t.co/UpprGWXr1A">pic.twitter.com/UpprGWXr1A</a>
—@phil_leblancSRCNumerous residents and business owners say the fire is keeping visitors away from Killarney.
"I'm glad people are concerned, that they don't want to make more problems," noted Jenny Herbert, whose husband owns a local fishery. "But at the same time when they don't move, we don't have any business. This is our pinnacle, and after this, it's downhill."
No timeline for evacuees
Rook said there's no timeline for lifting the orders.
"They [the ministry] told us it could be indefinite. I don't have any sense to be honest with you. It's not going to be this weekend, and I can't see it happening unless we get some good rain within the next week or so," he explained.
However, he showed some optimism regarding Parry Sound 33's rate of growth.
"It hasn't crossed the Pickerel River, which would be disastrous if it does. So we're quite pleased. We think it's going to be pretty stable now and through the weekend," he said.
"The CN bridge is fine. They're operating the CN train again. The fire's gotten maybe a little closer to Highway 69, but it's still open and will stay open."
Rook said communities to the north of the fire like Alban and Killarney may see more smoke Thursday as winds are expected to shift once again.
Alban remains under an evacuation alert put out by the Municipality of French River on Monday.