Forest fires burning in western Nova Scotia for nearly two weeks have now been contained and some restrictions on travel and activities in wooded areas have been lifted after a weekend rain.

Natural Resources Minister Lloyd Hines says in a release that firefighters battling several major blazes across the province have made significant progress, and there are fewer new fires starting.

The release says that the four largest fires, including one in Seven Mile Lake near Kejimkujik National Park, are 100 percent contained and crews continue to work on putting the flames out completely.

The province has announced the travel ban has been lifted in Cape Breton, but remains in place for the mainland until further notice.

The Department of Natural Resources says although they are contained, firefighters caution that doesn’t mean the fires are out, and say they could be battling flames for months to come.

“It means that we have a hose line, some type of a dozer break, some sort of natural barrier like a road, unfavorable fuels, a bog, or something on those lines,” says DNR forest fire technician Dave Steeves. “There is a perimeter around the entire area of the fire at this point.”

Although the weekend rain did help, firefighters say what they really need now is a long, slow rain, over a period of time.

“It had a big effect on our fine fuels, like twigs, and your leaves and your grass,” says Steeves. “Overall, it didn’t really have an effect on the drought code, which basically means the lower levels of the soil.”

Resident Norm Roy is one of the many hoping for rain.

“Don’t start any fires, just look at my property, you can see I have trees that are 80 to 90 feet high,” says Roy. “Any one of them could fall on the house. If they’re on fire, our house is gone.”

DNR is still asking people to refrain from any burning activities, although restrictions have been lifted in Cape Breton.

Beginning Monday night, the section of Trunk 8, near Maitland Bridge, Annapolis County, will be open between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. – all while crews continue a very labour intensive process.

“So they’ll be going over the entire area of these 395 hectares, visibly checking every spot,” says Steeves.

Still, dozens of firefighters from across the region and beyond are working to extinguish the flames.

With files from The Canadian Press and CTV Atlantic's Kayla Hounsell