Canada facing nearly 100 out of control wildfires triggering evacuations, emergency declarations

Alberta Wildfire 2025

Canada’s 2025 wildfire season is off to a busy start as nearly 100 out-of-control fires triggered states of emergency and multiple evacuations on Friday.

The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center on Friday listed the national preparedness level at 5, the highest possible, signifying significant wildfire activity in one or more jurisdictions, and international firefighter help has been requested.

The center said an estimated 96 fires were considered out of control, while another 79 were either being held or under control. An estimated 1,788,976 acres (723,973 hectares) have burned since the year’s start.

Saskatchewan and Manitoba, both at level 5 local preparedness levels as of Friday, have declared provincial states of emergency after thousands of residents were forced to evacuate.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said that 15 communities in the province had been evacuated due to 17 active wildfires. The province has experienced 206 wildfires since the beginning of the year, well above the five-year average of 125.

“We are seeing the devastating effects of wildfires impact communities across our province,” Moe said in the emergency declaration. “Therefore, today we are making a Provincial Declaration of Emergency to mobilize the resources necessary to safely evacuate Saskatchewan residents and to protect our communities.”

Credit: Warman Fire Rescue

Manitoba officials said 22 active wildfires are burning across the province. A total of 103 wildfires have burned there since the year’s start, also above the average of 80 fires. Officials also enacted Level 3 fire and travel restrictions across the province as part of their emergency declaration, which includes closures of hiking trails and cancellation of burn permits.

“The province advises a significant wildfire threat remains in eastern Manitoba and all returning residents must be prepared to evacuate with little notice,” officials said. “It is recommended all residents prepare an emergency go kit.”

Alberta, at a level 4 local preparedness level, has yet to issue a state of emergency, but numerous communities there have also been evacuated.

Canada’s first-ever National Risk Profile, published in 2024, reported that the area burned annually by wildland fires throughout the nation has more than doubled since the 1970s. The total is expected to double again by 2100.

“Canadians are also experiencing increased property and socio-economic losses and health issues due to wildland fire activity and wildland fire smoke,” the report said. “Governments, citizens, and private industry are seeing higher response and post-event recovery costs; between 1980 and 2021, average wildland fire evacuation events and number of evacuees have shown notable increases.”

Click here to read the full report.

Large wildfires in Manitoba prompt smoke advisories

Manitoba fires map
Map showing the locations of wildfires in Southern Manitoba at 5:12 a.m. CDT May 18, 2021. Based on heat detected by satellites.

Multiple wildfires in Southern Manitoba grew large Monday pushed by strong winds while the temperature was high and the relative humidity was low. The smoke being produced by the blazes prompted Environment Canada to issue multiple special air quality statements Monday evening.

“Localized areas of smoke are creating reduced visibilities and poor air quality down wind of fires,” the agency said in the statement.

Satellite photo of smoke from Manitoba wildfires
Satellite photo of smoke from Manitoba wildfires, May 17, 2021.

The areas under the air quality statement as of Monday evening include:

  •  Whiteshell – Lac du Bonnet – Pinawa
  •  Arborg – Hecla – Fisher River – Gypsumville – Ashern
  •  Bissett – Victoria Beach – Nopiming Provincial Park – Pine Falls
  •  Brandon – Neepawa – Carberry – Treherne
  •  Dauphin – Russell – Roblin – Winnipegosis
  •  Dugald – Beausejour – Grand Beach
  •  Grand Rapids – Waterhen
  •  Selkirk – Gimli – Stonewall – Woodlands
  •  Ste. Rose – McCreary – Alonsa – Gladstone

Four 10-person teams of firefighters are being brought in from Ontario to assist, while Quebec sent two air tankers and a bird dog aircraft.

Ontario firefighters en route Manitoba fire
Ontario firefighters en route to assist with wildfires in Manitoba May 15, 2021. Photo by Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.

The EA044 fire 23 Km (14 miles) west of Gypsumville seen on the map above is very close to another much larger fire. They may be all one fire separated by an area of light vegetation that cooled in between heat-detecting satellite overflights. If they are one, they cover an area of approximately 52,500 hectares (130,000 acres). About 28,300 hectares (70,000 acres) burned at that location Monday during the strong winds.

Below are forecasts produced by FireSmoke Canada for the distribution of wildfire smoke on Tuesday and Thursday. The circles with numbers indicate multiple fires at each location.

NIFC mobilizes air tankers to assist Canada

A BAe-146 air tanker dropping on a recent wildfire in Canada.
A BAe-146 air tanker dropping on the Kenora #18 Fire in Canada. Photo by Chris Sherwin.

This article was first published on Fire Aviation.

The National Interagency Fire Center has mobilized two BAe-146 air tankers and one King Air lead plane to assist the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba. Tankers 10 and 41 will be working out of the air tanker base at Bemidji, Minnesota 86 miles south of the US/Canadian border.

The aircraft were ordered primarily for the Kenora #18 Fire that straddles the border between Manitoba and Ontario (the brown dots in the map below). But they could be used for fires in either province.

According to the U.S. National Interagency Fire Center, Canada has not requested U.S. assistance specifically for wildfires in Alberta. The aid, they said, was requested through a bilateral firefighting assistance agreement with the Canadian Interagency Fire Center (CIFC). At this time, Canada has not requested additional resources or assistance from the U.S., though NIFC and the CIFC are frequently communicating.

Map Ontario Manitoba US

Manitoba adds 4 air tankers to their fleet

CL-415
Polishing one of the new CL-415 air tankers in Manitoba. (screen grab from ChrisD204 video)

The Canadian province of Manitoba is adding four new scooper air tankers to their fleet. The Bombardier CL-415 tankers can carry about 1,620 gallons of water and cruises at 207 mph. According to the Canadians, a typical mission for a CL-415 on a large fire in Manitoba would last four hours and includes 80 drops, totaling 129,000 gallons.

During an announcement about the new aircraft, Water Stewardship Minister Gord Mackintosh said:

With the new planes they are faster, the carry more water, and they drop double the number of bombs in an hour, in other words, they drop about 20 water bombs in an hour versus 12 with the old planes.

Gotta love the repeated references to the “bombs”.

The “old planes” Minister Mackintosh is referring to are the older CL-215s, which according to an article at the Winnipeg Free Press can make 12 drops per hour, flies at 160 mph, carries 1,412 gallons, totaling 67,776 gallons on a typical 4-hour mission.

For comparison, the large air tankers working the Fourmile Canyon fire west of Boulder, Colorado in September, 2010, where the retardant reload base was unusually close — 15 miles away — were dropping approximately 4,000 gallons per hour. The U.S. Forest Service’s fleet of 10 air tankers does not have any water scoopers or CL-215/415s on exclusive use contracts. The Department of Interior has had two for the last few years. The USFS currently has a Request for Proposal out for scooper air tankers, and may contract for some later this year. While water sources in the United States may not be as prolific as in much of Canada, it’s hard to continue to ignore an air tanker option that can deliver 32 times the number of gallons per hour onto a fire (4,000 vs. 32,000 gallons), comparing the best case scenarios for both scoopers and conventional large air tankers, such as a P2-V.