Wildfire season is not as perilous as last year: officials

Officials previously warned on May 28 that “significant wildfire activity” was expected in B.C. this month in the government's wildfire season preparedness and outlook for 2026.

Officials say that despite it being a “challenging” season, this year’s wildfire season has “not reached the scale seen in 2025.”

The update comes as an out-of-control fire in B.C. resulted in about 150 properties currently under an evacuation order, with about 255 properties being under an evacuation alert, B.C.’s Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness said Wednesday.

In 2025, more than 6,000 wildfires were reported in nearly every province and territory, impacting communities across the country and burning more than 8.3 million hectares.

Officials previously warned on May 28 that “significant wildfire activity” was expected in B.C. this month in the government’s wildfire season preparedness and outlook for this year.

Currently, there are 796 active wildfires burning across Canada, 60 of which are classified as being out of control, marking a steep increase from May 28, when 65 active wildfires were reported.

“Last year we saw fewer fires at this point in time, around 2,900, but a far more significant burned area, with 4.6 million hectares burned,” Emergency Preparedness Minister Eleanor said in a press conference Thursday.

So far this season, the latest information from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre shows there have been 3,100 fires this year.

Olszewski previously said on May 28 that Canada should “just prepare for the worst” of wildfire season this year, noting that there are “so many factors that can change how that forecast will come to be.”

During the month of July, temperatures are expected to be above normal across all Canadian regions except Saskatchewan and southern Alberta, while precipitation will be below normal in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario, a government official said during a technical briefing.

The Northwest Territories, Yukon, Alberta, parts of southwestern Quebec, and the Maritimes are indicating above-normal precipitation. A government official also added that, for August, forecasts indicate above-normal temperatures for most Canadian regions.

As a result, this year’s wildfire season has been deemed to be “manageable.”

The 2025 wildfire season has been recognized as Canada’s second-worst on record, with nearly 90,000 square kilometres consumed as of September 2025 — an area larger than New Brunswick.