Forest fire update: Parry Sound 33 ‘remapped’ at 11,000 hectares, smoke issues continue

Favourable weather conditions helped crews keep Parry Sound 33 mostly in check on Wednesday, but the fire is bigger than it was thought to be — and the smoke remains a problem.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry said in its nightly update on the fires that “Parry Sound 33 has been remapped at 11,039 hectares in size.”

That doesn’t mean, though, that the fire has grown dramatically.

“Recent weather allowed more accurate aerial mapping of the fire,” the MNRF explains. “And aerial ignition in the southeast added to the increased size.”

Changes in the winds on Wednesday also pushed smoke to the south, with people in the Muskoka area reporting lower air quality.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people in Henvey Inlet First Nation, as well as a number of areas within the Municipality of Killarney, remain under evacuation orders.

The village of Killarney is not affected by the fire.

Killarney’s emergency manager, Jim Rook, said it’s been a tough time for those who’ve been forced out of their homes and cottages.

“Fortunately, everybody is out safely, we’ve had no injuries or deaths, which is great news,” he said. “We’re now starting to work on a recovery plan. We just need to get some rain so we can get these implementation orders removed and we can return everybody to their home.”

Rook said crews were having some success keeping the fire south of the Pickerel River and away from the CN trestle bridge in that area.

The evacuation alert for the community of Alban remains in effect.