As of Tuesday, there were 111 active fires in the Northwest with 14 of those considered not under control.

It is feared the current conditions could potentially worsen the situation.

Fire Information Officer Jonathan Scott provides more details.

“There were 11 new fires in the Northwest region, there were actually 12 in total in the province as the Northeast region had one as well,” explains Scott. “The largest of the newest fires was Thunder Bay 95, which was 5 hectares in size, so we’re starting to see those lightning fires emerge after a few days. The fire hazard has rebounded so most of the Northwest region has a high to extreme fire hazard.”

Kenora 51, a significant fire of note, is currently 200,667 hectares in size and remains not under control.

Scott goes on to mention how the forecast could play a role in the severity of the fires over the course of the week.

“Over the next few days, for instance, the southern portion of the Northwest region, we’re going to have mainly sunny skies with some clouds, with winds out of the south,” says Scott. “Under those conditions, the fire hazard should be high to extreme for most of the region. There is some rain in the forecast later in the week, we’ll have to see if that materializes and where it occurs. Until then, the forest fire hazard will be high to extreme.”

So far, Ontario’s fire region has reported 1,096 fires this season.

That is nearly double last years total of 563, and more than 400 more than the ten-year average