The Ontario government has begun returning residents to communities forced out by wildfires, even as 152 fires continue to burn across the province and First Nations leaders call for a public inquiry into the response.

Natural Resources Minister Mike Harris said Tuesday that 12 of the active fires are considered out of control, according to Global News. Eighty-four fires were extinguished over the past week.

“While we are seeing fewer fire starts, our work does not end here,” Harris said in an update Tuesday.

While we are seeing fewer fire starts, our work does not end here.

In terms of hectares burned, this is Ontario's worst wildfire season on record, with more than 700,000 hectares scorched. The Thunder Bay 36 fire, at 350,000 hectares, is the largest blaze ever recorded in the province.

Communities returning home

Emergency Preparedness Minister Jill Dunlop said 14 communities have been evacuated this season. Six of them have returned home, and one more is in the process of returning. More than 1,100 evacuees remain in host communities across Ontario.

Northern Development and Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford said the return home can be unsettling for people coming back to places marked by fire. He said the province has stayed engaged with communities through texts and phone calls as they come back.

Record season driven by lightning storm

Harris said the number of fire starts this year is not unusual, but the speed at which they began was the major challenge. He pointed to a storm roughly four weeks ago that touched off about 30 fires that grew rapidly.

“What really kind of got us behind, if you will, is that storm that came through now about four weeks ago, almost to the day, and torched off somewhere in the neighbourhood about 30 fires that grew very, very quickly,” he told Global News.

Crews from Manitoba, New Brunswick, P.E.I., Alberta, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland have helped with suppression efforts, along with aircraft from Yukon and the federal government. Firefighters from Mexico have also arrived in northern Ontario. Some provincial crews will now head home or move on to help British Columbia.

While we're not in the clear here in Ontario yet, we are confident that we have the crews and the aircraft that we need to get the job done.

Harris added that the province has the personnel and aircraft needed to finish the job.

Calls for a public inquiry

The province is also facing criticism over how the emergency was handled. A number of people self-evacuated from communities where fires were approaching, some saying alerts did not come fast enough.

First Nations across Ontario have now called for a public inquiry into the wildfire response, a demand backed by the Fire Chiefs of Ontario and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.

“Let me be clear: The Ontario Government has completely and utterly failed our communities. Every step of this response has been inadequate. The warnings, the coordination, the evacuations, all of it,” Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler said in a media statement.

Harris said the province moved as quickly as it could to help affected communities, and urged residents not to wait for official direction if they see a fire starting and are able to leave.

He noted that an internal review takes place at the end of every wildfire season, but made no commitment to a public inquiry.