Canada Has Its Second-Worst Wildfire Season on Record

New York Times

a day ago

Thousands of people in Eastern Canada are under evacuation orders and thousands more have been warned to be on high alert as quick-moving wildfires burn out of control during what has become Canada's second-worst wildfire season on record.
There are over 700 active fires in Canada, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center, the national firefighting coordinating body, and many large wildfires are occurring in parts of the country where fires typically stay small.
A total of 18.5 million acres of forested land have burned since the beginning of the year, making this the second-worst year on record. The worst year was 2023, when 31.3 million acres had burned by this point in the summer, and 42.5 million acres were scorched by the end of the year.
Fewer acres may have burned this year compared with 2023, said Awa Cissé, a spokeswoman for the center, but the fire season can continue through September or October, she warned.
While parts of Canada experience wildfires each year, this season has been particularly bad because of persistently hot, dry weather. Much of the country is experiencing drought conditions, and the winter snowpack that usually keeps the landscape moist into spring was meager this year in many areas. As a result, the vegetation was parched and ready to burn.
The provinces in the western half of the country, especially Saskatchewan and Manitoba, have seen the most intense wildfires in the country this year, Ms. Cissé said.
The largest fire is the Shoe fire, in Saskatchewan, which has been burning since May 7. At 1.4 million acres, it's larger than Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.
Saskatchewan and Manitoba finally received a break thanks to rainy weather over the past four days, and cooler conditions are expected in coming days. The shift in weather has helped prevent new fires from starting and reduced the chance for explosive growth of existing fires, said Brian Proctor, a meteorologist for Environment Canada, the federal weather forecasting department.
Now the concern is focused on Newfoundland and Labrador. These eastern provinces, where wildfires are less common, are seeing an active season with multiple fires currently classified as out of control.
St. John's, Newfoundland's capital, and the surrounding area, where fires are burning, are experiencing dry conditions similar to what is typically seen in the Canadian Prairies of Western Canada, said Yan Boulanger, a research scientist in forest ecology at Natural Resources Canada.
Where wildfires are burning
Mr. Boulanger said the fires in Newfoundland were burning in what's known as the 'wildland-urban interface,' areas on the outskirts of cities and towns where houses are built close to flammable wild vegetation.
A state of emergency is in place for both Newfoundland and Labrador, and heat warnings are in effect for several regions.
Southern British Columbia is also an area of concern. There has been a recent uptick in active forest fires, especially on Vancouver Island, where conditions are extremely dry.
The province of Quebec has been an exception this year. It was devastated by wildfires in 2023, but it has largely been spared this year because of wet weather in May, June and July, especially in the southern portion of the province.
On Wednesday morning, John Hogan, the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, said some of the fires there had expanded because of high temperatures and wind.
There is already a ban on outdoor burning in the province, and on Wednesday morning, Mr. Hogan said he would add a provincewide restriction on the use of off-road vehicles on forested land. While there is no evidence that the use of the vehicles has contributed to the fires, the ban is out of an 'extreme abundance of caution,' he said.
'If you do violate this,' he said, 'we will find you and we will fine you.'