A helicopter takes off from the base of firefighting operations near Opal, Alta., on Wednesday. (John Archer/CBC News)Crews fighting a large wildfire northeast of Edmonton received a break overnight in the form of rain.

Scattered showers Tuesday night helped firefighters keep the massive fire near the hamlet of Opal from spreading. Firefighters kept the blaze at about 3,000 hectares in size on Tuesday despite record temperatures and strong winds.

The fire, which started a week ago about 60 kilometres from Edmonton, is no longer burning out of control and was considered "held," officials said Wednesday.

"What that means is that they are not expecting the fire to move beyond its current boundaries, and that's allowing the fire crews to now focus on, again, strengthening the perimeter of the fire guard and move in on the fire to put out hot spots," said Shannon Stambaugh, who speaks for Alberta Sustainable Resources.

While the showers were not enough to reduce the size of the fire, the weather break was enough to lift an evacuation order that had been issued earlier Tuesday.

The lifting of the order affecting seven homes in Sturgeon County allowed residents to spend the night at home.

More than 100 homes continued to be on evacuation alert.

More rain on Wednesday, along with forecast cooler temperatures and lighter winds, are expected to help firefighters keep the fire from spreading.

"We are expecting two [millimetres] of rain, which isn't enough," said Brydon Ward of Alberta Sustainable Resources.

"The best part is we have a high expected of 17 degrees and humidity of 35 per cent, and light winds from the northwest. That is really going to allow us to focus on attacking the inside perimeter of that fire and hopefully getting a handle on it," he said.

More than 200 firefighters are expected to be fighting the fire Wednesday.