Forest fires crews on standby in northeastern Ontario

Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources says it's dealt with 18 fires so far this year in the northeast, as forest fire season is startsto heat up.

None of the fires are threatening people or buildings, said Robert Woodrich is a fire information officer for the MNR.

• Where are the fires?

"We had a wetter than normal start to the season, and so the number of starts was quite was quite low. However, the fires have been picking up, especially in the last week."

There are 29 crews standing by to deal with fires in the northeast and half a dozen water bombers are also now stationed in this region, the MNR reported.

"We are getting back to a more typical number of starts and fires overall," Woodrich added.

The MNR is asking people to take brush they might otherwise burnto landfill sites and to ensure that all campfires are properly put out.

About 200,000 hectares of forest burn each year and millions of dollars are spent fighting them.