A return home could come as early as next week for people forced out of homes and cottages by an intense wildfire northeast of Caddy Lake.
Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources, which is leading the fight against the wildfire on the Manitoba-Ontario border, says cool, wet weather this week has finally allowed ground crews to make progress in fighting the blaze.
"I'm optimistic in saying (we'll go home) in a week,” said Lise Lyons, who was forced to leave her home due to the forest fire.
“A lot of fire (is) still burning, and I've mentioned previously if that wind changes, fire is its own demon."
Officials say the perimeter of the fire is now 50 per cent contained, but more time and work is required before people will be allowed to return to their homes and cottages.
“We also need to ensure conditions are safe for folks to be able to actually return home, so we need to ensure that we've got 100 per cent containment,” said Marney Brown, incident commander with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. “ We need to do further assessments of the weather and as well of what we expect the fire to do down the road."
Officials expect a shift back to warmer temperatures and strong winds in the next few days, which could cause the fire to expand.
So far, no homes or cottages have been destroyed in the fire.
