A Restricted Fire Zone is being implemented at midnight Wednesday.
This will cover all of northwestern Ontario and a small portion of northeastern Ontario.
The Ministry of Natural Resources is dealing with more than 160 active wildland fires.
Many of them have sparked within the northwest region, with more than 60 new starts reported over the last 48 hours.
Several municipalities have also imposed localized bans, including Thunder Bay, Ignace, Atikokan, and communities in the west end of the Rainy River District.
The RFZ and fire bans restrict the use of campfires, outdoor stoves, burn barrels and the burning of grass and rubbish until further notice.
The Ministry says the ban is necessary to reduce the threat of new human-caused fires.
“We are expecting the current fire hazard to remain, along with the potential for problematic fires to continue and expect a continuation of the increased forest fire activity into the foreseeable future,” states a release.
In an email to Acadia News, Fire Information Officer Chris Marchand states that continued hot, dry and very windy weather conditions have elevated the fire situation, leading to significant growth to existing and newly discovered fires.
Lightning from storms that passed over the region has also contributed to some of the new starts.
