Parry Sound 33 forest fire now ‘under control’: ministry

More than a month since it was first discovered, the enormous forest fire known as Parry Sound 33 is now officially “under control.”

The fire, covering 11,362 hectares in the Ontario’s northeastern region, was first discovered near Henvey Inlet on July 18.

On August 9, after three weeks of ongoing fire suppression efforts from crews from all across Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) changed the fire’s status to “being held.”

0:59 Aerial footage shows choking smog, fires from Parry Sound 33 forest fire

Now, exactly two weeks later, the fire is listed as “under control.”

“Under control is when they are confirming that the fire is not going to spread and they are working on what they call mop up or putting hot spots out,” MNRF spokesperson Tanya Kienapple said.

However, according to Kienapple, there is no estimated timeline for how long it will take crews to extinguish the fire.

“They won’t call it out until it is completely out,” she said.

According to the ministry, as of Wednesday, there were 31 active forest fires in the province’s northeastern region. However, all of the fires were being held, under control or being observed.

Kienapple says on Thursday, one smaller fire measuring 0.2 hectares was discovered in the northeastern region and was considered not yet under control.

So far in 2018, Ontario has recorded 1,164 forest fires, a drastic increase from the 644 fires recorded in 2017.