2025 Canadian Wildfires

The ongoing 2025 Canadian wildfire season began with over 160 wildfires active across the country in mid-May 2025 primarily in Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan. Two civilians died in the town of Lac du Bonnet located northeast of Winnipeg. Fires continued to form and spread in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador forcing tens of thousands to evacuate, including the city of Flin Flon. Manitoba and Saskatchewan declared respective states of emergency on May 28 and May 29.

Smoke from the wildfires has made the sunset appear more orange-red than usual across the Eastern US. The smoke has since been blown to Europe, causing the same phenomenon there. Smoke from the fires resulted in air quality warnings being issued for June 5–6 in the Ottawa–Gatineau area, parts of the Greater Toronto Area, and in Montreal.

Background

Wildfires are a natural part of the Canadian boreal forest life cycle. Climate change has led to higher temperatures and drier conditions, leading in turn to more frequent and severe fires and a longer fire season. The 2023 Canadian wildfires were the most destructive in recorded Canadian history and the 2024 wildfire season, while less severe, was one of the worst. Overwintering "zombie" fires continued to smoulder under snow in Alberta and British Columbia in January 2025, some of which began 2023. Wildfire researcher Mike Flannigan stated that this is the first time he has observed such fires survive over two years. The British Columbia Wildfire Service had detected 49 active wildfires in early June that started as zombie fires, all near Fort Nelson.

In Saskatchewan, rapid day-to-day shifts in temperature combined with low levels of snow created drought conditions; rather than seeping into the ground gradually and soaking the soil, snow would melt rapidly while the ground was still frozen and water would evaporate. Trees and grasses would rehydrate, grow, and dry out, leaving plentiful fuel. Boreal forests are more vulnerable to fire in the spring because deciduous tree have not yet grown their leaves, which store moisture. With warmer weather happening earlier in the year, fires become more likely. Fires in the spring are more likely to be caused by humans, for example via abandoned campfires or hot machinery, while fires in the summer are more likely to have natural causes like lightning.

Preparation

After the 2023 fires, Canadian governments began buying new water bombers, but they are not expected to arrive until 2029 at the earliest because of backlogs in orders.

In preparation for 2025, Edmonton carried out its first-ever prescribed burns within city limits.

Wildfires

Alberta

A wildfire near Elk Island National Park reached the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village on April 18, damaging or destroying several buildings. While no historic buildings were lost, the affected structures housed many artifacts that were destroyed.

In early May, parts of Alberta were under "extreme" fire risk because of a combination of drought, heat, and high winds. About 100 people were evacuated near County of Grande Prairie over the weekend of May 3 but were able to return on May 5. On May 6, several communities in northern Alberta faced evacuation alerts and orders with individuals and livestock. A wildfire that began after an ATV caught fire in the Redwater Provincial Recreation Area forced the evacuation of some of the community of Redwater, while nearby Thorhild County saw more than 40 homes and 70 people evacuated. Over 800 residents of the village of Boyle were evacuated on May 6 before being allowed to return on May 8.

About 1,300 residents of Swan Hills were ordered to evacuate on May 26. On May 29, eight firefighters responding to Chipewyan Lake temporarily lost radio contact and were forced to shelter in place. They were able to escape the next day after forestry crews cleared downed trees from roads, but the fires destroyed 27 structures including critical infrastructure in Chipewyan Lake: its water treatment facility, senior centre, and health centre.
Production at some oil sands locations was shut down and workers were evacuated because of fires. As of June 6, the province estimated that 4,625 Albertans had been forced to leave their homes.

The County of Grande Prairie issued evacuation orders again on June 7 after the Kiskatinaw River wildfire crossed the border from British Columbia.

British Columbia

By May 2, there were 26 wildfires in British Columbia with two being out of control. One forced the evacuation of part of Fort St. John for one day after a fire broke out near Northern Lights College. Roughly 70 people were evacuated from Peace River Regional District on May 29.

Kelly Lake faced a severe fire from its west, the Kiskatinaw River wildfire, resulting in a series of evacuations on June 4. The fire continued to grow to its north and south, crossing into Alberta on June 6. There were 49 active wildfires that had overwintered from 2024. Those fires jumped Highway 97, closing the road and forcing evacuations at nearby properties as well as the Fort Nelson First Nation evacuating the Kahntah area. Fires also closed the highway between Prophet River and Sikanni Brake Check.

Southern British Columbia faced a heat wave in early June, and a human-caused fire grew out of control west of Port Alberni on Vancouver Island. On the mainland, a fire broke out on June 9 near Squamish and resulted in an evacuation alert for several properties in the area. As the fire grew, Alice Lake Provincial Park was closed and evacuated.

Manitoba

In Manitoba during mid-May, five fires were classified as "out of control". Fire conditions were exacerbated by a concurrent heat wave, with Winnipeg recording a temperature of on May 13, breaking a temperature record that had stood for 125 years.

A wildfire located north of Whiteshell Provincial Park grew to over . Dense smoke from the fire hampered aerial firefighting operations, forcing crews to focus on property protection in safer areas. A fire of in northwestern Manitoba had approximately forty firefighters from British Columbia assigned to it since May 13. A fire in Piney close to the Manitoba-United States border grew to .

On May 13, a severe wildfire near the town of Lac du Bonnet, northeast of Winnipeg, resulted in two civilian fatalities. The victims, identified as a married man and woman, perished when they became trapped at home by rapidly advancing flames. Firefighters were unable to reach them due to the fire's intensity. Mayor of Lac du Bonnet Ken Lodge noted that the fire developed and spread at an exceptional speed and intensity. The fire expanded to approximately , necessitating the evacuation of roughly 1,000 residents from the town and surrounding communities. It destroyed twenty-eight structures in the Grausdin Point area. The province declared a state of emergency near Whiteshell Provincial Park the same day. At that time, there were approximately 1,200 evacuees in Manitoba from nearby fires in Ontario, in addition to evacuees from within the province. On May 25, a firefighter was severely injured and hospitalized.

Lynn Lake, which has about 600 residents, was evacuated on May 27 because of a fire. A fire at a landfill in Creighton, Saskatchewan also began to spread towards neighbouring Flin Flon. Water bombers fighting fires in the area were temporarily grounded because of unauthorized drone activity. Flin Flon and Creighton were ordered to evacuate on May 28. The province had the highest wildfire activity in the country at this point, with 96 fires (compared to 77 for a typical full year) and over burned, approximately triple the five-year annual average. The fires pushed hotels in the province to capacity and premier Wab Kinew requested Manitoban communities and companies take in evacuees. Kinew also announced a state of emergency for the province and stated that about 17,000 people would be evacuated from northern Manitoba.

On May 31, the roughly 600 residents from Cranberry Portage community in northwestern Manitoba were placed under a mandatory evacuation order after fire caused a power outage and closed Highway 10. An evacuation of the Pimicikamak Cree Nation, which started earlier in the week, ramped up further on May 31 with officials expecting five flights to leave for Winnipeg by the end of the day. Smoke from the wildfires in Manitoba drifted into parts of the United States, leading to a deterioration of air quality.

Firefighters faced limited options in defending Flin Flon going into the weekend of May 30 as the wildfire smoke was too thick for water bombers and resources were stretched thin by the numerous other fires. The city's mayor, George Fontaine, stated that Flin Flon was at the mercy of shifting winds, which, if turned towards the city, "could be very catastrophic". About 200 personnel continued to keep the blaze at the city's edge, along with two helitankers, three helicopter buckets, three water bombers, and 19 firetrucks. Though crews made some progress repelling the fire, temperatures of and wind gusts of pushed it back towards the city. Fires nearly encircled the city on June 4 and firefighters began raiding grocery stores because of low food supplies. The fires destroyed some structures outside of the city but improvements in weather helped to keep it at bay.

The large-scale evacuations presented logistical challenges. Several conferences in Manitoba were postponed or cancelled to free up hotel rooms for evacuees and Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias called for the government to invoke the Emergency Measures Act to free up more space. He also expressed frustration with some residents who refused to evacuate. Pimicikamak, which was ordered evacuated on May 28, faced a bottleneck as high winds and heavy smoke closed its airport and left the ferry as the main evacuation method, leading to nine-hour waits that forced some residents to turn around. The Canadian military had helped evacuated 3,500 people from fire zones in the province by June 3. Snow Lake, which had been hosting some evacuees from Flin Flon, was itself placed under evacuation alert on June 3. Between 600 and 800 evacuees were sent to Niagara Falls, Ontario because of local hotel shortages. The government of Manitoba asked the public to cancel any non-essential travel to help free up resources as over 21,000 people had registered as evacuees by June 9.

Newfoundland and Labrador

The fire season in Newfoundland and Labrador began early following hot and dry weather, according to Jamie Tippett, a deputy minister with the provincial forestry department. In early May, wildfires formed north of Conception Bay North and led to evacuations and states of emergency in Small Point-Adam's Cove-Blackhead-Broad Cove and Western Cove, destroying 45 structures, including 12 homes. The area is home to about 400 permanent residents plus seasonal residents. The fires reduced air quality in St. John's and the north of the Avalon Peninsula. Fires also formed in Fermeuse on the peninsula and Joe's Lake near the town of Badger but were brought under control.

Labrador saw diminished snowfall in the winter, with a snowpack of compared to the previous year. Much of western Labrador faced extreme fire risk on May 28 and fires near Churchill Falls forced the closure of the Trans-Labrador Highway, which connect it to Happy Valley-Goose Bay. The fires also caused power outages in Labrador City, Wabush, and Fermont, Quebec.

Badger was evacuated on June 18 as an out of control fire was about away. About 800 people registered with the Canadian Red Cross and stayed at the Joe Byrne Memorial Stadium to the east in Grand Falls-Windsor. The fire is suspected to have been sparked by a lightning strike before growing to . The fire reached within of the town and burned , but firefighting and favourable weather led to the evacuation order being lifted on June 20.

Ontario

An out-of-control fire that originated in Ingolf, Ontario in the Kenora District on May 12 spread into Manitoba on May 15. The fire was estimated at on the Ontario side, with officials having not yet determined the extent of its encroachment into Manitoba. The Wabaseemoong Independent Nations, about northwest of Kenora, was fully evacuated with about 800 people being flown to Niagara Falls while a few dozen went to Winnipeg. The Kenora 20 fire was confirmed to have destroyed some structures.

On May 14, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources issued an implementation order for areas surrounding the fire designated as "Sioux Lookout 3." The wildfire, first reported on May 13, was located north of Savant Lake and had expanded to cover more than . Another wildfire designated as "Fort Frances 4" located north of Crystal Lake grew to over as of May 15. The Sioux Lookout 3 forced the evacuation of Ojibway Nation of Saugeen. Canadian Armed Forces were deployed to evacuate areas in and around Sandy Lake First Nation, a fly-in community in the northwest, after the Red Lake 12 wildfire grew to over . Nineteen construction workers narrowly escaped the fire by sheltering in a shipping container after the fires travelled between morning and noon and engulfed their site.

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan entered the fire season after a relatively dry winter with snowpacks melting quickly after sudden jumps in temperature. By mid-May there were two fires of concern in Saskatchewan: the Shoe fire near Narrow Hills Provincial Park and the Camp fire near Candle Lake and Smeaton. The provincial park was closed and all highways in and out were closed to traffic, while the Camp fire was intense enough to produce pyrocumulonimbus clouds.

The two fires merged and grew to over by May 27, destroyed a Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency fire base and forced its 280 firefighters and staff to flee, and led to the evacuation of about 500 people from Canoe Lake to the cities of Cold Lake and Lloydminster in Alberta. The Pisew fire reached and led to the evacuation of 380 people from Hall Lake, and 27 people were evacuated from Brabant Lake because of the Jay Smith fire, which grew to . Pelican Narrows declared a state of emergency and 1,700 residents were evacuated because of the nearby Pelican 2 fire, which reached . The fires continued to threaten the area and about 4,000 people in total were evacuated by May 28.

The town of Creighton, which borders Flin Flon, was ordered to evacuate on May 28. That same day the First Nations of Lac La Ronge Indian Band, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation and Montreal Lake Cree Nation declared a joint state of emergency as its leaders expressed "deep concerns" about shortages of firefighting resources and demanded meetings with members of parliament and premier Scott Moe. On May 29, the Camp fire reached a size of and destroyed dozens of cabins around East Trout Lake. Moe declared a provincial state of emergency that day.

Communities within a radius around La Ronge were ordered to evacuate on June 2 after the Pisew fire grew to and breached the airport, affecting 7,500 people. The fires in the province destroyed 163 structures (including private properties such as homes, cabins, and sheds and provincial properties in parks) and the province estimated that a total of 8,000 people had been displaced. The Shoe fire grew to over . Denare Beach, which is southwest of Creighton and had been evacuated previously, was evacuated of all remaining firefighters and essential staff on June 3 as fires destroyed the southern half of the village. Fires reached La Ronge the night of June 3 and destroyed the Robertson Trading Post, which held hundreds of indigenous artifacts.

Provincially, the number of evacuees was estimated to have reached 15,000 and approximately 400 structures had been destroyed. The evacuations caused shortages of hotel spaces. On June 2, a group of evacuees in Saskatoon held a protest outside the first ministers' meeting demanding more resources for firefighting and evacuees. Julie Baschuk, the mayor of Air Ronge, wrote to premier Moe that many evacuees from her city were not able to access food or find shelter a week after being evacuated, with some forced to sleep in vehicles, tents or backyards. Ombdudsman Sharon Pratchler called on the province to make urgent improvements to how it treats evacuees.

Premier Moe announced on June 6 that two individuals had been charged with arson and one was related to a major wildfire, though this was not supported by RCMP statements.

Quebec

Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU) reported 59 wildfires in Quebec in 2025, which is 44 fewer than the 10-year average. On May 10, SOPFEU raised the fire danger rating for western Quebec, and also noted that a five-hectare fire started burning on May 10 in the Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality. Under the cause of the fire, the agency noted "residents". On May 11, a one-hectare fire started in Abitibi Regional County Municipality. Both fires were listed as under control SOPFEU reported two active wildfires as conditions become favourable to wildfires with the snow melting. Regions Estrie, Montérégie, Centre-du-Québec, Montreal, Laval, Outaouais, Laurentides, Lanaudière and Chaudière-Appalaches had their fire danger index raised, while in addition, parts of the Mauricie, Capitale-Nationale, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Abitibi–Témiscamingue, Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine and Côte-Nord are under a raised danger index. SOPEFEU added "The rest of Quebec is still experiencing winter conditions, with substantial snow cover remaining in forested areas. In these northern regions, the wildfire risk is currently non-existent". Quebec and Alberta are reportedly at extreme risk of wildfires—the highest level on Environment and Climate Change Canada's fire risk scale.

Responses

Manitoba

Authorities ordered the complete closure of Whiteshell Provincial Park, beginning at 9:00 AM on May 15, with mandatory evacuation to be completed by 1:00 PM the same day. Flags at the Manitoba Legislative Building were lowered to half-mast to pay respect to the two people killed by the fire in Lac du Bonnet.

On May 31, World Central Kitchen dispatched a relief team to Winnipeg.

National

On May 29, CIFFC raised the National Preparedness Level to 5, its highest level, indicating full mobilization of national firefighting resources and continuing high to extreme fire activity.

Demand for water bombers increased during firefighting operations, though provinces are not expected to receive new planes for several years. Canada has no national water bomber fleet or firefighting service—instead, the provinces have mutual sharing agreements—though the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs has offered a proposal to create one within weeks.

International

On May 30, firefighters from Oregon and Idaho deployed to Alberta to aid in battling wildfires there. Australia sent sent 96 personnel for five weeks on June 10.

Impacts

Air quality

Environment and Climate Change Canada began issuing air quality warnings for Saskatchewan and Manitoba in mid-May. The first plumes of smoked from the fires reached Europe on May 18 at an altitude of 9000m. As fires grew and intensified, smoke in early June caused severe air quality issues in northwestern Ontario, forcing closures and people indoors in Thunder Bay and throughout the region. American cities from Kansas City to Minneapolis faced hazardous air quality and a network of pediatric clinics in the Twin Cities noted an increase in patients with respiratory problems.

Smoke drifted eastwards resulting in air quality warnings across Canada on June 5 and 6, including in the Ottawa–Gatineau region, Greater Toronto Area, and Montreal. At times during that span, Toronto and Montreal respectively had the second- and third-worst air quality in the world according to IQAir. One-third of the US was impacted by the smoke with areas suffering from poor air quality. The smoke also caused hazy skies and orange-red sunsets in the US and Europe.

Fires in northern Alberta and British Columbia covered Calgary and Edmonton in smoke, leading to a Air Quality Health Index of 10+ for the latter.

Health

Wildfire smoke creates high levels of ozone and particulate matter such as PM, which can cause respiratory issues and increase the risk of cardiac arrest. Many areas where wildfires have burned are home to former mining operations, which has left high concentrations of toxins such as arsenic, lead, and mercury that are then released into the air. Peat fires in particular can accumulate these toxins.

Environmental

According to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, by June 2 the fires had emitted 56 megatonnes of carbon dioxide, second only to the 2023 season.

With climate change creating hot and dry conditions, the start of the wildfire season has been intense compared to historical records, with the area burned and number of fires approaching that of 2023. By June 10, the fires had burned and already surpassed the annual average of .

See also

* List of fires in Canada
* Wildfires in 2025
* List of wildfires

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canadian wildfires, 2025
2025 disasters in Canada
2025 wildfires
2025 in Ontario
2025 in Manitoba
2020s wildfires in Canada
Climate change in Canada
May 2025 in Canada
June 2025 in Canada