Manitoba has biggest fire risk in Canada

Southern Manitoba and northwestern Ontario have the most extreme risk of forest fires in the country.

Natural Resources Canada's updated fire danger maphas coloured those areas in red, while the majority of the country is listed as low or moderate, which means fires are unlikely or "gentle" and easily contained.

Southern Manitoba and northwestern Ontario are listed as extreme, which means fires are fast-spreading and intense.

"Fire danger is a relative index of how easy it is to ignite vegetation, how difficult a fire may be to control, and how much damage a fire may do," according to the government.

There are three major wildfires that have been ragingin Manitoba for the past week. But for the past two days, crews have managed to keep them from spreading.

Return to Badger

Evacuees forced from their homes bythe wildfire near the village of Badger are on their way home.

Councillors for the Rural Municipality of Piney, where the village is located,made thatdecisionin consultation with officials from Manitoba Conservationon Friday.

One of the evacuees, Vern Davis, saidthere's only one word to describe his feelings: "great."

"Yeah, it's only [been] four days or something like that but it feels like forever," he said.

The community, in the southeast corner of Manitoba, was evacuated on Sunday. The order affected16 people.

Still, Reeve Duane Boutang said whilemost of the hotspots are under controlthe conditions are by no means ideal.

"We have to get at least two inches of rain. That's the only thing that will make this thing even more bearable. It's so dry," he said.

As a result, the RM has tightened fire restrictions. Anyone caught with a backyard fire faces a fine of $500.

As well, travel bans and fire restrictions in the area are still in place.

The fire near is approximately 5,300 hectares (53 square kilometres) in size, according to the Manitoba government.

Vita fire

Municipal fire crews from eastern Manitoba continue to work on a large fire of approximately 41 square kilometres located in the Rural Municipality of Stuartburn, south of Highway 201.

Marchand fire

Work continues to put out a fire south of Marchand, which remains approximately 11 square kilometres in size. No structures are threatened at this time.

No official causes of any of the fires have been determined at this time but investigators continue to look into it.