The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry provided the following update on the forest fire situation late last night (Monday, July 23):

Regional Fire Situation

By the evening of July 23 there were 55 active forest fires across the northeast.

Of these, 21 are not yet under control, 34 are either being held, under control or being observed.

Lady Evelyn Fire Cluster:

North Bay 72, the largest fire in the Northeast, has spread beyond the boundaries of Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park.

The fire is now 27,579 hectares. 238 firefighters and support staff and 11 helicopters are assigned to North Bay 72.

The team continues to observe North Bay 59.

Rain brought welcome relief to the fire today allowing crews to regroup from yesterday’s extreme day.

The northeast portion of the fire received between 8 and 13 mm, the southwest portion received 25 to 31 mm and the northern portion between 11 and 20 mm of rain.

Crews will continue to work hose lines on the perimeter of the fire.

Sprinklers continue to run on values on Mendelssohn Lake, Skull Lake and Cook Lake.

We currently have firefighters from British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and the Northwest Territories and Mexico.

Temagami Fire Cluster:

There are 45 firefighters, with 6 helicopters working on fires in the Temagami cluster.

Due to the rain received in the area, fire activity was reduced greatly on all fires within the Temagami Cluster. These conditions made for a great working day for firefighters, as they are able to get into hotspot areas safely.

Crews continue to patrol and mop up: North Bay 55, 56, 68 and 69. Firefighters continue to monitor: North Bay 18, 19, 46, 47, 61 and action priority areas with heli-buckets.

Value protection systems remain on North Bay 55, 56, and 47.

North Bay 69, which previously caused the evacuation of twenty homes in the Temagami area, is now under control. Firefighters continue to focus on working their way deep into the interior of the fire to check for hot spots.

River Valley Fire Cluster:

North Bay 62 and North Bay 42 – Both fires changed status to Being Held this afternoon. We are monitoring North Bay 25.

There are 139 people working on these fires including firefighters from Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Mexico.

Fire behavior was relatively quiet today due to the rain, with some smoke, smouldering, and minimal open flame.

Fires received between 30 to 35 ml of precipitation.

North Bay 69, which previously caused the evacuation of twenty homes in the Temagami area, is now under control. Firefighters continue to focus on working their way deep into the interior of the fire to check for hot spots.