Province says 2018 was one of the busiest wildfire seasons

Ontario says 2018 has been one of the busiest wildfire seasons inits history.

There were more than one thousand wildfires incentral and northern Ontario this year.

That includes Parry Sound 33, which posed a challenge for firefightersfor much of the summer.

Fire information officer ShayneMcCoolsays as of Wednesday, Parry Sound 33 has been declaredextinguished.He says they've been monitoring the fire area for hot spots for weeks.

"There's a lot of ground to cover before we make sure it is fullyextinguished," says McCool.

All travel restrictions associated with Parry Sound 33 have also been lifted.

He says the final size of Parry Sound 33was 11,362.5 hectares.

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestrywebsite, the total number of forest fires inOntario's fire region for the 2018fire season was1,325.

That compares to 776 in 2017 and the ten year average of 756.