The risk for forest fires in the northeast region of Ontario remains low. The Ministry of Natural Resources Forest Fire management centre reports the fire hazard is low in areas located south of Timmins and Wawa. To date, since the forest fire season opened on April 1, there has been one fire in the Northeast region. Sault Ste. Marie 2 was reported on April 16 and called out the following day. The 0.6 hectare fire was located off Mission Road in Goulais Bay, about 26 km northwest of Sault Ste. Marie. A small forest fire in Hearst – 0.4 hectares — marked the start of the season on April 11. There are no active fires in Northwestern Ontario. While some experts have said that it is expected to be a severe wildfire season, others say the season is hard to predict.