Misinformation linking Canadian wildfires to arson are part of a long trend, reports find

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The spread of false claims linking Canada’s wildfires to arson or governmental conspiracies, rather than climate change, has been part of a years-long trend, the Climate Action Against Disinformation organization said in a recent bulletin. It said this year’s misinformation is made up of the same baseless claims it detailed in a report from last year.

“Over time, the claims became more conspiratorial, insinuating that left-wing extremists and the Canadian government were responsible for starting the fires,” the report said. “Despite civil society groups’ attempts to debunk this disinformation, false and misleading posts still gained considerable engagement.”

A widespread misinformation campaign blaming Canada’s wildfires on arson and mismanagement has continued, with some help from Republicans in the United States.

Multiple rapid attribution analyses have since shown the direct link between Canada’s wildfires and climate change. Imperial College London’s World Weather Attribution issued a recent briefing stressing that temperatures well above long-term averages increased the likelihood and severity of the fires. The Climate Central nonprofit, in an analysis, found fossil fuel burning made temperatures at least five times higher. The EU-based ClimaMeter organization found that human-caused climate change intensified both high temperatures and winds.

The baseless arson claims continue to gain traction, even with lawmakers from the United States. Multiple Republican lawmakers from Wisconsin and Minnesota recently continued the arson blame game and accused Canada of having poor forest management, saying their constituents are suffering because of it. The letter made no mention of climate change.

It’s not just wildfires in Canada that are seeing more disinformation. Research from the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube enable and profit from conspiracies relating to extreme weather, including the recent Texas floods.

“While families mourned and first responders combed through wreckage after climate disasters in Texas and California, social media companies shamelessly exploited these catastrophes for profit,” the organization’s CEO said. “The rapid spread of climate conspiracies online isn’t accidental, it’s baked into a business model that profits from outrage and division. LA County officials told me that after the fires earlier this year, scammers placed social media ads impersonating federal emergency aid agencies to steal victims’ personal information. When distraught people can’t distinguish real help from online deception, platforms become complicit in the suffering of innocent people.”

Click here to read the full report.

Canadian First Nations’ diesel dependance offers transitional opportunity for wildfire reductions

Around 200,000 people in Canada live in diesel-dependent communities, most of whom are Indigenous and face major challenges. A new report claims that a transition to a more environmentally friendly fuel source could also reduce their wildfire risk.

The recent paper, published in the Communications Earth & Environment journal, identified dual benefits if Canada’s First Nations transitioned away from diesel fuels to “fire-smart” fuels.

Around 70% of the Indigenous communities within the country are off Canada’s electricity grid and are dependent on diesel-powered generators as their main sources of both power and heat, causing energy insecurity problems and worsening climate change.

“Diesel-dependent remote communities pay approximately 2–6 times more for energy…than the average Canadian, even with subsidies,” the report said. “Since 2017, the Government of Canada, has supported over one hundred clean energy projects, including bioenergy via its Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities program and many fire-prone communities have expressed the need to integrate local biomass management with wildland fire management plans.”

“They found that 30 of the 33 communities could meet their annual energy needs by harvesting less than 1% of their local biomass.”

The researchers identified 33 diesel-dependent communities at high wildfire risk due to the accumulation of flammable forest fuels. They found that 30 of the 33 communities could meet their annual energy needs by harvesting less than 1% of their local biomass. If communities made such a transition from diesel to wood-based bioenergy, the researchers said their energy insecurity issues and wildfire risk would be greatly reduced.

Canadian Forest Service Landscape Restoration Researcher Nicolas Mansuy told WildfireToday that there are numerous barriers for diesel-dependent communities that want to transition to new energy sources, including:

  • Infrastructure and logistics constraints
  • Technical capacity and skilled labor
  • Long-term funding and operational support
  • Policy and regulatory barriers
  • Community readiness and energy planning gaps
  • Lack of reliable and localized data

The nation’s Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities program, however, can help expand the transition, according to Mansuy. The program already supports bioenergy projects and encourages communities to use local feedstocks from local forest management, salvage logging, and fuel treatments.

The study claims to be the first Canada-wide assessment of potential biomass extraction for bioenergy and wildfire risk mitigation.

“Although we conducted the analysis on a limited number of off-grid communities, our findings clearly demonstrate that remote off-grid communities, which are predominantly Indigenous, face the dual threats of wildfire and energy insecurity,” the researchers said. “Given the growing wildfire risk and the need for energy security in Indigenous communities, Indigenous leadership, and collaboration with wildland fire agencies, are essential for developing integrated fuel management strategies and identifying synergies with the bioenergy sector.”

Click here to read the full study.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02313-1

Bodies are still being found in the aftermath of California’s Palisades and Eaton Fires, months after burning

The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner on Tuesday announced that the death toll from the Palisades and Eaton Fires has risen, more than six months after the fires burned.

Officials were called to the scene near the 10 block of La Venezia Court in Altadena on Monday to investigate possible human remains found there, the department said in a press release. There, the department’s Special Operations Response Team determined the remains were human and linked to the January wildfires.

“The death toll related to the wildfires is now 31 – 19 in the Eaton Fire and 12 in the Palisades,” the department said. “The latest Medical Examiner case number is 2025-11669 and is Unidentified Doe #431.”

Officials said case information will be added once the remains are identified and legal next of kin have been notified.

Most of the deaths connected to the Palisades and Eaton Fires were confirmed in January, with the exception of this death and a death confirmed on April 2. Then, officials found the body of 54-year-old Kevin Devine at a residence in the 900 block of Boston Street in Altadena. The cause of death was listed as inhalation of products from combustion and thermal injuries.

Click here to see the full death toll of the fires on the department’s website.

Europe’s ongoing wildfire summer, and Scotland recovering from its largest recorded wildfire

Heatwave temperatures, drought and decades of poor forest management are producing an extreme wildfire season across Europe into July.

More than 230,000 hectares have been burnt by wildfires across Europe so far this year, according to the EU’s European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). As of 15 July, the cumulative total of scorched land stands at 230,049 hectares – 119 per cent above the long-term average of 106,587 hectares for this time of the year. A total of 1203 fires larger than 30 hectares have been detected, compared to 783 this time last year, which was closer to an average year for wildfire.

Early July saw multiple fires involving evacuations of thousands of residents in areas including Turkiye where three lives were lost, Catalonia with two deaths, Crete, Scotland and around Marseille in France. Ireland issued a rare Condition Red Forest Fire Warning, its highest level of Fire Danger.

From mid-July, the focus has been on northern Europe and Scandinavia, and southern European regions around the Mediterranean.

Two wildfires burning in Scotland merged, creating the nation’s largest recorded wildfire event, according to the Scottish Wildfire Forum.

The fires, one burning near Carrbridge and the other near Dava moor, occurred between June 28 and July 1. The fires burned a total of 24,087 acres (9,752 hectares) and had a perimeter length of 157 miles (253 kilometers). The burned land included 21,529 acres (8,716 hectares) of moorland and peatland and 2,559 acres (1,036 hectares) of forest.

“The fires threatened homes and damaged moors, forests, peatland and farming infrastructure such as fences,” the forum said in a press release. “Smoke was an issue over a wide area. Many roads in the area had to be closed and residents were advised to close windows and doors on public health grounds. The Local Resilience Partnership, where multi-agency responses to such incidents are managed, held daily meetings.”

Scottish Land & Estates, a rural business association, said numerous businesses and estates helped government officials respond to the fire, including over 100 employees and £3.1 million in firefighting equipment. The association also sent a questionnaire out to all estates affected by the fire, seeking information on the fire’s spread and local impacts.

A report from the association found that more than 110 ATVs, fogging units, tractors, diggers, water bowsers and other assets were deployed by local businesses and estates. Several “near-miss” incidents also occurred, according to the report.

“The Scottish Wildfire Forum is deeply grateful to all those who were involved in bringing these difficult fires under control,” the forum said. “The SFRS crews alongside the expertise and dedication of keepers, foresters and farmers who work in our rural landscapes, fought for several days to ensure the fires were extinguished. People travelled great distances to bring their resources to bear. Locals volunteered and donated huge quantities of food and drinks. Our thanks go to all.”

Arizona calls for investigation into feds handling of Grand Canyon wildfire that triggered evacuations, destroyed historic lodge

Firefighters pick up the pieces of a historic Grand Canyon lodge lost to a wildfire. Arizona officials call for an investigation into the response.

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has called for an independent investigation into the federal response management of a wildfire that caused numerous residents and workers to evacuate and destroyed a historic lodge.

The Dragon Bravo Fire started burning on July 4 after a lightning strike within the Grand Canyon National Park’s North Rim area. Responding officials initially managed the fire “for resource objectives” and a “confine and contain” strategy, before switching to an “aggressive full suppression strategy”, when the fire rapidly grew on July 12, fanned by high winds.

“(The fire) was driven by strong northwest wind gusts, uncommon to the area, and jumped multiple containment features,” according to Inciweb. “The fire is being managed with a full suppression strategy. Fire behavior is very active, driven by hot temperatures, low relative humidity, and continued strong wind gusts.”

The National Park Service reported that aerial bucket drops were conducted to slow fire movement near the Grand Canyon Lodge and Transept Canyon. However, the use of aerial retardant was not feasible due to a chlorine gas leak at the water treatment facility, which required the evacuation of firefighting personnel from critical zones nearby.

New photos from the Dragon Bravo Fire on the North Rim are available on Grand Canyon National Park’s Flickr page. The photos were taken Friday, July 18, 2025, and include aerial reconnaissance photos along with on-the-ground images showing damage in the North Rim Lodge area.

Multiple structures in the North Rim were damaged, including the complete destruction of the only lodging at the location, the nearly century-old Grand Canyon Lodge. Preliminary National Park Service assessments indicate that between 50 to 80 structures have been lost, including NPS administrative buildings and visitor facilities. No injuries or loss of life have been reported, and all staff and residents were successfully evacuated prior to the fire’s escalation. Workers of the lodge said they’re devastated by the loss.

“We are deeply grateful to all who have chosen Grand Canyon Lodge as their basecamp of exploration and adventure,” workers said in a press release. “Each guest helped make Grand Canyon Lodge more than just a destination, but a place filled with life-long memories. It is with heavy hearts that we share this devastating news. We know that Grand Canyon Lodge has meant as much to so many of you as it has to us.”

Hobbs said the loss of the historic structure and the surfacing of the wildfire response details called for a full and thorough independent investigation into the management of the fire.

“Arizonans deserve answers for how this fire was allowed to decimate the Grand Canyon National Park,” Hobbs said in a statement. “As wildfires become more frequent and more intense, Arizona deserves nothing less than an aggressive and proactive emergency response from federal partners to ensure Arizonan’s lives, homes, businesses and natural resources are preserved.”

The North Rim of the park will remain closed for the rest of the 2025 season, which runs to October, and inner canyon trails and campgrounds are closed until further notice, the National Park Service said. The South Rim of the park remains open.

Credit: Grand Canyon National Park

Disastrous wildfires in Canada leave Indigenous tribes calling for help, First Nations say

Disastrous wildfires in Manitoba leave indigenous tribes without help.

The Canadian government is not doing enough to support Indigenous people suffering from 2025’s wildfires, according to the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation.

The Nation, located in Canada’s Manitoba province, recently sent out a press release accusing Indigenous Services Canada, the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, and the Canadian Red Cross of refusing to answer their calls for help amid the province’s disastrous wildfires. The Manitoba Government on Thursday declared a State of Emergency in response to the “unprecedented” wildfire activity.

The Nation also condemned the organizations’ “delay, denial, and deflection” amid the disastrous wildfires, along with leaving the Nation’s “most vulnerable” residents behind.

“We are being told there are no hotel rooms, they say they are calling other provinces, they say their hands are tied, but where was this excuse-making when thousands of Ukrainian refugees were welcomed to Canada and provided with housing, food, health care and dignity?” Chief Angela Levasseur said. “Why are our people – Indigenous peoples – being left to suffer and choke on thick black smoke while federal ISC and FNIHB officials and the Canadian Red Cross sit at their desks and say ‘not it’?”

The Nation demanded that the agencies immediately evacuate all priority individuals from the nation to safe and private accommodations, deploy emergency medical staff to support evacuations, and for the agencies to respect the nation’s autonomy.

The Canadian Red Cross, in an emailed statement to WildfireToday, said it provides support upon request and at the direction of the Government of Manitoba. Once the organization is requested by a community, it works closely with Indigenous leadership to support individuals, families, and communities impacted by the wildfires.

“This has been a very busy start to the wildfire season in Manitoba and the Canadian Red Cross has been working around the clock to provide support to people impacted by fires,” the statement said. “This is a fast-moving and evolving response, and the Red Cross is working closely with community leadership, the Government of Manitoba, and/or Indigenous Services Canada to provide support to people impacted, as requested and directed by the community.”

Click here for the full media release from the NCN Chief and Council.

Click here for the Canadian Red Cross’ updated information on the wildfires in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

American Republicans claim Canada’s wildfires are due to ‘poor management’ and demand nation deal with smoke

Smoke over Nova Scotia fires

Republican representatives from Minnesota and Wisconsin recently sent a formal letter to Canada, demanding that the nation “deal with” its wildfires and the smoke produced by them.

The letter, signed by multiple Republican lawmakers from Wisconsin and Minnesota, was addressed to Canadian Ambassador to the United States Kristen Hillman. Lawmakers accused Canada of having poor forest management and said their constituents are suffering because of it.

“While we know a key driver of this issue has been a lack of active forest management, we’ve also seen things like arson as another way multiple large wildfires have ignited in Canada,” the letter said.

Typically, at this time of year, smoke from Canadian wildfires spreads south into neighboring northern U.S. states such as Minnesota and Wisconsin and beyond.

“Our constituents have been limited in their ability to go outside and safely breathe due to the dangerous air quality the wildfire smoke has created,” the letter said. “In our neck of the woods, summer months are the best time of the year to spend time outdoors recreating, enjoying time with family, and creating new memories, but this wildfire smoke makes it difficult to do all those things.”

The letter doesn’t provide any evidence to back up its poor management claim. Canada has long been seen as a global leader in the sustainable management of its 907 million acres of boreal forest, nearly half the entire area of the United States and around 9% of the world’s total forest cover.

The letter also makes no reference to climate change as a significant driver of increasingly frequent fire weather days and increasingly dry boreal forests throughout Canada, a primary driver of the nation’s worsening wildfires.

“Warmer-than-average temperatures, decreased levels of snowpack, low soil moisture and elevated drought conditions are indicators that climate change is impacting the frequency, size and range of wildland fires in Canada. For example, the number of over-wintering fires is increasing,” Natural Resources Canada‘s website states.

President Donald Trump and his administration have worked to erase all mention of climate change from government websites and correspondence. Outside of the U.S., some mentions of climate change have also had to be scrubbed in order to appease the nation’s current leaders into joining international agreements, like the recently established Kananaskis Wildfire Charter. Ilya Goheen with the University of Toronto’s G7 Research Group told The Canadian Press that G7 leaders may have avoided including mentions of climate change in the charter to placate Trump.

READ MORE: Global wildfire cooperation agreement signed by G7 nations

Syria’s ‘most imporant’ forest threatened by devestating wildfires

A "devestating" wildfire season in Syria threatens the nation's most important forest and triggered the deployment of UN crews.

For over three months, firefighters have fought more than 4,000 wildfires threatening northern Syria, over 300 igniting since the start of July, according to Minister Raed al-Saleh. The fires are encroaching on the nation’s “most important” forested area.

The al-Fronloq Protected Area is a nature preserve that spans 11,000 acres (4500 hectares). The forest is a biodiversity haven, housing the Pine Brutia keystone species and acting as the home canal for many species of wild birds near the Asia/Europe border.

Al-Saleh, in a recent statement, said the fires are burning throughout the Lattakia Governorate in the nation’s northwestern region, nearing the preserve. He also said firefighters are focusing their efforts on preventing the flames from reaching the “largest and most important forest” in Syria. The fires have also forced some villages near the Turkish border to evacuate.

Over 4,000 wildfires have ignited in Syria since April. The flames threaten the nation's "most important" forest.
Credit: Syria Minister Raed al-Saleh.

“Extinguishing operations required a total of 3,744 hours of work, of which 1,400 hours were in Lattakia Governorate alone, reflecting the intensity and complexity of the fires in that governorate, characterized by its complex mountainous terrain and vast forest areas,” the minister’s statement on Monday said. “Firefighting teams from the Syrian Civil Defense and forest firefighting units continue to battle forest fires in Latakia Governorate for the fifth consecutive day.”

Crews from Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon are assisting Syria’s fire brigades in fighting the fires, the minister said. The United Nations has also sent humanitarian crews to assess the damage from the “devastating” fires and address the most immediate needs as well as long-term support.

“At this difficult time, our hearts and thoughts are with the people of Lattakia,” UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria, Adam Abdelmoula, said in a recent statement. “We are steadfast in our commitment to support local authorities and provide timely, principled assistance to all affected communities, ensuring that urgent needs are addressed swiftly and effectively.”

Global wildfire cooperation agreement signed by G7 nations

PM participated in the 51st G7 summit meeting at Kananaskis, in Canada on June 17, 2025.

Multiple nations recently signed a first-of-its-kind agreement to boost global wildfire readiness across the globe.

The “Kananaskis Wildfire Charter” was signed by each of the countries in the “Group of Seven,” or G7, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It was also signed by the “non-enumerated member” European Union and non-member leaders from Australia, India, Mexico, South Korea, and South Africa.

“We, the Leaders of the G7, are deeply concerned that the world has experienced record-breaking wildfires across every forested continent over the past decade, often overwhelming available national resources and requiring governments to request assistance from other countries,” the charter’s introduction reads. “These increasingly extreme wildfires are endangering lives, affecting human health, destroying homes and ecosystems, and costing governments and taxpayers billions of dollars each year.”

The charter establishes a roadmap for each nation to follow to increase international wildfire preparation, mitigation, and resilience in a variety of ways, including:

  • Adopting a “whole of society” approach by collaborating with various public and private entities, implementing mitigation actions grounded in scientific research, and educating the public on wildfire causes.
  • Strengthening global wildfire response through data sharing, developing common training protocols, and improving timely access to basic firefighting equipment.
  • Focus on wildfire recovery through identifying areas for active restoration efforts, prioritizing wildfire-resilient infrastructure, and encouraging research to support scale-up ecological restoration.

The charter is the first time G7 leaders have passed a wildfire-specific agreement, Ilya Goheen with the University of Toronto’s G7 Research Group told The Canadian Press. She also said leaders may have avoided including mentions of climate change in the charter to placate U.S. President Donald Trump.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, however, reportedly mentioned climate change in his closing news conference as he listed numerous challenges facing the world. He said recovering from wildfires is something felt “intensely here in the Prairies.”

Click here to read the full charter.

Idaho wildfire sniper ambush suspect identified

Investigators identified the man suspected of shooting and killing two firefighters at Idaho's Nettleton Gulch Fire on June 29.

The man suspected of shooting and killing two firefighters in Idaho has been identified by local authorities.

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris, at a press conference Monday afternoon, said investigators identified the deceased suspect as Wess Roley. Law enforcement found Roley’s body at the scene of the fatal Idaho wildfire shooting, along with a high-powered rifle and a flint starter, which investigators believe he used to start the wildfire to lure firefighters into an ambush, according to Norris. Investigators did not share how they believe Roley died.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Idaho wildfire sniper ambush leaves 2 firefighters dead, suspect’s body recovered

Norris said Roley had no criminal history and local law enforcement had five interactions with him, but they were minor. Roley also has no link to any international or domestic terrorist organization. Investigators said they discovered that Roley, at one time, wanted to be a firefighter, but there is still no clear indication of motive.

Investigators believe Roley shot and killed himself at the scene of the crime.

“We’re still processing the scene, and it’s going to take a few days to do that, especially with the current fire that’s there,” Norris said.

The wildfire that investigators believe was started by Roley, named the Nettleton Gulch Fire, remains at 26 acres. Norris said firefighters believe they’ll have the fire contained by Monday night.

WildfireToday and the International Association of Wildland Fire share our condolences with the families of the victims.