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By Stew Kernan

The forest fire season in the northeast was steady but below average.

Ministry of Natural Resources Information Officer Shane McCool says there were 314 fire starts between April 1st and October 31st with over 56-hundred hectares burned with a majority of that north of Cochrane and Hearst.

Of the fire starts, 186 were caused by humans which is just above the expected 50% mark.

The fire, nicknamed Sudbury 38 in the area of Halfway Lake Provincial Park was the most significant of the season which took almost two month to officially call out.

1,079 local Fire Rangers and support staff were able to provide 17,700 work days out of province to help areas in need, mainly Western Canada and the U-S.