2025 Canadian wildfires
The 2025 Canadian wildfire season began with over 160 wildfires 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. Manitoba and Saskatchewan declared respective month-long states of emergency on May 28 and May 29, while fires formed or spread through the summer in British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. Manitoba declared a second state of emergency on July 10 as a second wave of fires hit the region. Atlantic Canada faced heat waves and extreme fire conditions in early August, and fires began breaking out in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the island of Newfoundland. In late August and early September, fires forced evacuations in the Northwest Territories and the interior of British Columbia. Over half of the area burned in 2025 was in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, while Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario all saw fires above annual averages.
The 2025 fires continued a series of severe wildfire season in Canada. Though wildfires are a natural part of the boreal forest life cycle, climate change driven by fossil fuel consumption led to higher temperatures, drier conditions, and longer fire seasons. The 2024 wildfires were among the worst in history, and the 2023 Canadian wildfires were unprecedented in their destruction, with some fires in 2025 starting as holdover "zombie" fires from 2023. By mid-June, the 2025 fires were on track to be the second-worst on record in terms of carbon emissions and area burned, and by August they had surpassed the 1989 season, trailing only 2023.
The fires forced the evacuations of 85,000 people, of whom 45,000 were from First Nations. The entire city of Flin Flon, Manitoba was evacuated in May, and in June much of the nearby village of Denare Beach, Saskatchewan was destroyed. The fires required the mobilization of the Canadian Armed Forces to aid in logistical and firefighting efforts, and hundreds of international firefighters joined efforts to combat the blazes. The fires damaged or destroyed large numbers of homes, cottages, and other structures, as well as critical infrastructure such as water treatment facilities. Smoke from the fires caused hazardous air quality across the continent, triggering air quality alerts in major metropolitan areas in Canada and the United States. Smoke traveled as far as Europe, causing hazy conditions and a red-orange hue during dawn and dusk.
Background
While 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. This led to 71% of the country was facing abnormally dry conditions by the end of July, rivalling 2023 as one of the most widespread dry years on record and contributing to what would become a destructive 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 for 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.
About 14.3% of Canadian buildings sit in the wildland–urban interface, and about 79% of buildings are within, putting them at risk of wildfire.
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. The village was closed for the season and cancelled all events to allow for restoration.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.
A fire between Dunmore and Irvine caused a brief evacuation of a dozen residences in Cypress County on September 22.
British Columbia
Northeast British Columbia was in the midst of a multi-year drought in 2025, spanning six or seven years. The Prince George Fire Centre, which covers of the northeast's area, saw 10% of its land burned in the prior two years, more than that of the previous 60 years combined. The area's boreal and sub-boreal forests are especially prone to wildfire because of their deep organic soils, which can house overwintering "zombie" fires, some of which had been burning since 2023. By May 2, there were 26 wildfires in the province 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. Fires near Chase forced evacuations on Neskonlith Indian Band land on June 30. An out of control fire near Lytton on July 1 led to a state of emergency in Blue Sky County and evacuations of some properties. The fire is believed to have been caused by a spark from a malfunction from an RCMP trailer.
A firefighter scouting the Summit Lake fire near Fort Nelson suffered minor injuries after being scratched and bitten by a grizzly bear on July 4. The Whelan Creek fire shut down Kelowna Airport and forced evacuations of seven properties on July 6, but was brought under control the evening of July 7 and air service was restored.
From June to mid-July, over of the Prince George Fire Centre had burned, and it was expected that by the end of the year over 30% of the area's forested land base would be burned.
Between July 30 and August 1, over 35,000 lightning strikes were recorded in the province, sparking 65 fires in the interior of the province, Fraser Valley, and Vancouver Island. Fires in Peachland led to evacuations on July 30, though 498 properties had their evacuation orders lifted by August 1 after the fires were held. Fires on the north shore of Cameron Lake on Vancouver Island led to a local state of emergency and a few dozen homes being evacuated and 289 placed on evacuation alerts. The Mount Underwood fire began rapidly growing August 11 near Port Alberni, reaching and leading to the evacuation of 300 people from a campground. The fire knocked out power for 500 properties and grew to over the next day. The BC Wildfire Service stated that such extreme fire behaviour is unusual on Vancouver Island and followed unprecedented dry conditions, hot weather, and strong winds. Port Alberni declared a local state of emergency and evacuation orders were issued for hundreds of properties along the east side of the Alberni Inlet and those in rural areas between Port Alberni and Nitinat.
A fire in the Cariboo region between Tweedsmuir Park and Itcha Ilgachuz Provincial Park led to evacuation orders on August 2 for 150 parcels of land and multiple First Nations reserves. The fire is suspected to have been caused by lightning. Separate wildfires closed Highway 5 between Hope and Merritt and Highway 20 east of Bella Coola and west of Anahim Lake. The following day, about 1,500 people were evacuated from Anahim Lake because of the Beef Trail Creek wildfire. The B.C. Wildfire Service stated on September 2 that one of its birddog aircraft was struck by an illegally-operating civilian drone.