Ontario – Despite a fairly dry July, particularly in Thunder Bay, it’s so far been a fairly light forest fire season across the region compared to previous years, with some blazes being extinguished quickly. According to Ontario’s Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services (AFFES) agency, there have been 189 fires recorded across the province as of Monday, compared to the 10-year average of 463 for the same period. Nearly half so far this season broke out east of Northwestern Ontario. The AFFES agency says that the amount of area burned so far this season is quite small compared to the 10-year average — 18,436 hectares, compared to more than 192,347 ha for the same period. Of the 18,436 burned to date, only 634 ha have burned in the Northwest. In 2023, during one of Ontario’s worst forest fire seasons in memory, nearly 396,000 ha had burned over parts of the province by near the end of July.