Cooler temperatures and some rain didn't keep two forest fires along the Manitoba-Ontario boundary from growing in the past day.

Manitoba officials said Wednesday afternoon that the fire northeast of Caddy Lake has grown to about 5,800 hectares, up 700 from Tuesday. The Beresford Lake fire, meanwhile, has grown to 73,000 hectares — up substantially from the day before, when it was approximately 56,000 hectares.

"While weather conditions have improved, there was little rain in the eastern region over the last 24 hours," a press release from Manitoba Sustainable Development reads. "South winds are expected to continue to affect fire suppression efforts."

The fires, which have been burning since late last week, have forced the ongoing evacuation of 61 properties on Wallace Lake and others in the Beresford cottage subdivision in Nopiming Provincial Park. The east shore of Caddy Lake in Whiteshell Provincial Park is also closed until further notice, with an evacuation notice remaining in effect there, and cottagers from Ingolf, Ont., were evacuated last week.

In the meantime, fire crews from Manitoba and Ontario have received air support from other jurisdictions. On Tuesday afternoon, two BAE-146 jets from Minnesota dropped fire retardant on flames in an effort to protect hydro lines near Kenora. And a water bomber group from the Northwest Territories — which includes two CL-125 aircraft and a bird dog plane — has joined firefighting efforts in Manitoba.

In total, about 100 people are working to protect cabins and property in Manitoba, provincial officials said.

“My heart goes out to all those folks (affected),” said Minister of Sustainable Development Cathy Cox. “We’re working aggressively, we’re doing whatever we can.”

The ministry is setting up a specific contact person those affected can get answers from, Cox said, in addition to a town hall being planned for next week. Updates are also being tweeted.

Premier Brian Pallister said the province is working to get more information out to affected residents and cottage-owners.

“Of course we’re all concerned about the fires and the suppression of the fires,” Pallister said.

When questioned about delays with getting public bulletins out, Pallister replied, “The information flow issues, I’m told, are being addressed.”

“Obviously people are fearful, they have properties in that area and that’s understandable and we want to make sure that there’s access to all the information that we can get to them.” But, he quipped, “Some of the fires are not respecting provincial boundaries,” presenting logistical difficulties.

Cox said Ontario has been “a real help” and they’re co-ordinating water-bomber paths.