Kenora Fire 51 remains north of Umfreville Lake, about 20 kilometres north of Wabaseemoong Independent Nation.
"That fire has burnt to the northern shore of Umfrenville Lake," said Fire Information Officer Chris Marchand. "It has not set up on the other side of the lake at this point, and that's a very good thing."
As a precaution, some community members from Wabaseemoong have started to evacuate.
Marchand details what measures are being taken by the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources, and Forestry to protect the community of Wabaseemoong.
"They're using helicopters with buckets to attack hot spots on [Kenora Fire 51], and to really keep it from making that jump across that span of water."
"Also fire ignition crews are trying to bring that fire to natural boundaries and bulldozer lines are being used to improve access to some of the more remote areas."
Additionally, Fire Rangers are working to protect community values in Wabaseemoong and critical infrastructure around Kenora Fire 51.
Fire personnel from Mexico, Alberta, and Australia are on the front lines with local crews fighting the out-of-control fire.
Yesterday, two fires were reported in the district. The wildland fire hazard in the northwest region is mainly low to moderate with areas of high hazard persisting in the Fort Frances, Dryden, and Thunder Bay sectors.
Rain Wednesday into Thursday was a welcome sight for crews. 23 mm fell in Poplar Hill, 15 mm fell in Deer Lake, 20 mm fell in Cat Lake, and rain was also reported near Red Lake and Kenora Fire 51.
"It's not enough rain to get us out of the underlying drought conditions that are keeping the Northwest region so receptive to lightning fires," said Marchand.
"But it's yet another reprieve from the more intense fire behavior, and it's going to help us buy some time to keep positioning firefighters on the landscape and building fireguards with heavy equipment."
"In the wake of this rainfall, we expect to see some higher humidity levels and lower temperatures, which also helps to limit fire behavior in the days to come."
Kenora Fire 51 was discovered on June 8 and has since grown to 197,549 hectares or roughly 4.25 times bigger than the City of Winnipeg.