Another 13 wildfires were confirmed in northwestern Ontario on Saturday, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Officials said most of the new fires were listed as not yet under control as of Saturday evening. They range from 0.1 to 0.5 hectares in size.
- Red Lake 37 and Red Lake 38 are located about 16.5 kilometres northeast of Pikangikum First Nation. The first fire is being held and the other is not under control.
- Red Lake 40 is about 14.5 kilometres west of McDowell Lake and 20.8 kilometres east of Tickner Lake and is not under control.
- Red Lake 41 is located about 2.5 kilometres southeast of the junction of Nungesser Road and Pikangikum North Spirit Lake Road and is not under control.
- Red Lake 42, about 5.5 kilometres east of Nungesser Road near Pedlar Lake, is also not under control.
- Red Lake 43 is about one kilometre west of Nungesser Road near Naylor Lake and is not under control.
- Thunder Bay 19 is located about six kilometres east of Kopka River on the west side of Vivid Lake. It is not under control.
- Sioux Lookout 34, 35, 36, 37 and 38 are in a cluster southeast of Weagamow Lake and are not yet under control.
As of Saturday evening, there were 33 active wildfires across northwestern Ontario, including 14 that were not under control, two that were being held, four that were under control and 13 that were being observed.
The wildland fire hazard ranges from low to moderate in the southeast and northwest corners of the region to extreme in parts of the Sioux Lookout and Red Lake sectors.
Fires of note
Red Lake 12 remains not under control at more than 194,000 hectares in size, according to the daily update.
Fire behaviour was considered low on Saturday with rain falling across the fire area and higher relative humidity.
Before the rain began, the areas with the most concentration of heat were north of Borland Lake and the northwest area along Finger Lake.
A total of 28 firefighting crews continued to use pumps and hose to put out hotspots throughout the southern and eastern sections of the fire.
They are supported by 18 helicopters, including including four heavy helicopters with increased bucketing capacity.
Sioux Lookout 18 continued to exhibit minimal fire behaviour on Saturday, according to officials. It currently measures more than 23,000 hectares.
Warm and windy conditions persisted throughout most of the day until a cold front brought thunderstorms and precipitation early in the evening.
Crews continued to patrol and action hotspots along the eastern flank, while slinging out equipment from the western side of the fire.