Here's the latest on northwestern Ontario's forest fires: Sunday, Aug. 16

There were no new wildland fires confirmed in the northwest region on Saturday

There are 85 active wildfires in northwestern Ontario, according to the latest report issued Saturday night from Ontario's Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services (AFFES).

Of those, seven are not under control, six are being held, nine are under control and the rest are being observed.

The province said as of Saturday evening, no new fires had been confirmed in the northwest region since its last update on Friday evening. As well, cooler temperatures and forecast precipitation on Saturday were expected to help with efforts to reduce the intensity of some of the most notable fires in the region.

The forest fire hazard is mostly low across northwestern Ontario, with a pocket of moderate hazard in the Kenora area, a pocket of moderate hazard near Marten Falls First Nation, and pockets of moderate and high hazard in the Thunder Bay fire management district, north of Lake Nipigon.

Roughly 829 people remain displaced

As of Friday, roughly 829 people remain displaced due to wildfires in Ontario, according to the ministry of Emergency Preparedness and Response.

About 2,000 evacuees from across northwestern Ontario have returned home.

The ministry has held over 110 coordination calls with First Nation chiefs, community leaders, emergency management partners, municipalities and the federal government, said Jill Dunlop, Ontario's minister of emergency preparedness and response, speaking at a Tuesday news conference.

Evacuation, implementation orders

There are two new evacuation alerts in effect for Fort Frances 39 and Minnesota’s "Thumb Fire."

The Dryden Fort Frances Atikokan District has issued an evacuation alert due to "the evolving situation and increased fire behaviour of wildland Fire Fort Frances 39 and Minnesota’s ‘Thumb Fire.’"

People living or using the area near the fires on the Ontario side are "strongly encouraged to prepare to evacuate on short notice."

This includes all areas accessed by Lagoon Road and all areas located on the following lakes:

Evacuation orders or alerts remain in effect for areas near the following fires:

What to know about preparing go bags and emergency kits

Those under evacuation orders are required to leave the area, while those under evacuation alerts are urged to prepare to evacuate.

"My ministry is also conducting assessment flights to document property damage and loss. Impacted property owners can contact 211 to receive information from our ministry staff and support on the next steps," said Mike Harris, minister of Natural Resources, at the Tuesday press conference.

He said that the ministry is also currently working closely with Namaygoosisagagun First Nation to restore the road back to the landing on the lake, which goes into the community, and ministry engineers are doing some work on its first bridge to try and expedite construction.

The ministry is also working with camps, tourist operators and similar stakeholders to try and get them back to assess damages, Harris added.

Northwestern Ontario and a small portion of northeastern Ontario remain under a restricted fire zone, which means no open-air burning, including campfires, is allowed.

Notice to Air Missions, or NOTAMs, have also been issued for Thunder Bay 36 and Fort Frances 14.

However, updates have been made to the implementation order currently in effect for active Thunder Bay 36, 56 and Dryden 34, 35 in the Thunder Bay–Ignace District on Friday, removing some areas previously included.

According to the province's interactive highway map, the following roads are closed due to wildfire activity:

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) urge people for their safety and the safety of emergency responders to:

Canada Post red delivery service alerts

Mail delivery has been suspended in the following communities due to wildfire activity:

Eight new fires were confirmed in the northeast as of Saturday evening:

There are currently 47 active wildland fires in the northeast Region. Of these fires: four are not under control, two are being held, three are under control and 38 are being observed.

Forest fire danger ratings are primarily low across northeastern Ontario, with some moderate and high pockets in the southwest, south of Greater Sudbury and around North Bay.

The ministry said earlier this summer it is providing an additional $650 million to purchase six new waterbombers and five new helicopters.

It has also added 170 new permanent fire personnel positions, including crew lead roles, and increased compensation for staff, including firefighters and pilots.

The ministry will conduct an after-action review of its wildfire response to inform improvements in planning and response.

More than 80 wildfires extinguished in Ontario in past 2 weeks: minister

There have also been four Ontario Corps partners and 17 Ontario Corps volunteers sent to help. In addition to reception centres set up in Thunder Bay and Dryden, the province said the following equipment/supplies have been provided:

Air purifiers, air scrubbers and replacement filters, in particular, were sent to five First Nations, allowing them to remain in their communities.

As part of these efforts, Feed Ontario and the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres are also shipping and distributing food to evacuees.

In addition, the Kaministiquia and Upsala fire departments were among some regional fire services to receive wildland fire skids from GlobalMedic.