More than 50 forest fires burning in northwestern Ontario on Thursday

Despite recent rainfall, there are currently no plans to lift a restricted fire zone in northwestern Ontario, the province says.

The restricted fire zone has been in effect since June 1, and municipalities in the region have put fire bans in place as well.

"At this point in time, we don't have any anticipation of lifting the restricted fire zone, but we do appreciate the public's effort in helping us to reduce human-caused fires because they can account for a significant part of the workload for our crews, since we do have a lot of fires on the landscape right now," said Alison Bezubiak, fire information officer with Aviation, Forest Fires and Emergency Services (AFFES).

As of Wednesday evening, 55 fires were burning in northwestern Ontario, AFFES said. Of those, 12 were not under control, eight were being held, seven were under control and 28 were being observed.

Among the region's fires of note are:

• Sioux Lookout 33, burning in Wabikimi Provincial Park, about 60,300 hectares, not under control.
• Sioux Lookout 44, located on the west side of Lake St. Joseph, about 6,700 hectares, not under control.
• Sioux Lookout 53, 3.5 kilometres east of Bearskin Lake First Nation, 334 hectares, being held.
• Nipigon 13, west of Ogoki Lake, about 37,800 hectares, not under control.
• Nipigon 19, northwest of Ogoki Lake, about 9,100 hectares, not under control.
• Red Lake 28, 40 kilometres north of Lac Seul First Nation, about 19,100 hectares, not under control.

"We are experiencing cooler temperatures in the northwest, which is helpful," Bezubiak said. "We do have rain in the forecast that may assist in reducing the hazard, though we won't know the outcome of that until the rain actually materializes.

"While we have received rain over the last week as well, it was accompanied by a lot of lightning. Lightning can cause fires beneath the forest floor, which can take over a week to arise.

"So we continue to monitor for these potential lightning fires, while trying to limit the preventable human-caused fires with the restricted fire zone," she explained.

Rain and thunderstorms are in the forecast for several areas of the northwest — including Thunder Bay, Kenora, Dryden, Fort Frances, Sioux Lookout, and Nipigon — in the coming days.

Despite the number of fires, no air quality warnings were in effect for northwestern Ontario on Thursday morning.