National Wildland Fire Situation Report

National Wildland Fire Situation Report

Archived reports

Current as of: May 23, 2025

• Data courtesy of the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC).
• Check the Air Quality Health Index for air quality in your area.

Priority fires

Ontario- Manitoba Border Kenora 20 (KEN 020) This wildfire has crossed over the Manitoba-Ontario border into Eastern Manitoba. It is currently 31,276 hectares in size and remains Not-Under-Control. Rising temperatures, steady winds and low relative humidity have contributed to its increased fire behaviour, and about 900 members of the Wabaseemong community remain evacuated.

Manitoba EA0061 – Bird River Fire/RM of Alexander This fire is located about 1km from Bird River, is approximately 101,000 hectares in size and Out-of-Control. Bird River residents and the Tanco Mine remain evacuated.

Interagency mobilization

Canada is at National Preparedness Level 3, indicating that significant wildland fire activity is occurring in one or more agencies, and the demand and mobilization of interagency resources through CIFFC is moderate to high.

Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario are at Agency Preparedness Level (APL) 3 and other agencies are at level 1. At APL 3, agencies have high Fire Danger, anticipate high fire load in the next week, and may require some assistance with resources. At the time of this report, there are personnel, aircraft, and fire fighting equipment being mobilized through the CIFFC.

The United States is at preparedness level 2, indicating that wildland fire activity is increasing in a few geographic areas, but resources within most geographic areas are adequate and there is little to moderate mobilization of resources occurring through the National Interagency Coordination Center (NIFC).

The number of fires is average for this time of year and area burned to date is significantly less than the 10-year average.

Weekly Synopsis

In British Columbia, there are Open Fire restrictions in Cariboo and Kamloops, and in parts of Northwest, and Prince George.

In Alberta, there are fire bans and restrictions across the province, particularly in the central and southern regions.

In Saskatchewan, there are fire bans and restrictions for central regions north of the provincial forest boundary, extending from the western border to the eastern edge of the province.

In Manitoba, the Manigotagan River, Nopiming, Pinawa Dam, Poplar Bay, South Atikaki, Wallace Lake, Whiteshell, and Woodridge Parks are closed due to wildfire activity. Many others prohibit campfires at all times.

In Ontario, there is a Restricted Fire Zone for a portion of the Northwest Region including the Red Lake, Kenora, Ignace, Atikokan, Sioux Lookout and Pickle Lake zones. Campfires and open fires are also prohibited in several Provincial Parks.

In Nova Scotia burning is allowed between 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. in the counties of Annapolis, Antigonish, Cape Breton, Cumberland, Digby, Kings, Lunenburg, Queens, Richmond, Shelburne, Victoria, and Yarmouth. Other counties do not allow burning before 7:00 p.m.

New Brunswick updates burning restrictions daily. At the time of this report, burning is permitted from 2:00 p.m. May 21 to 2:00 p.m. May 22.

For Category 2, 3, or 4 fires, Prince Edward Island requires burning permits, a Fire Weather Index (FWI) of low or moderate, and wind speeds less than 20km/hr.

Newfoundland and Labrador require burning permits, but suspends permits when fire hazard is high, very high or extreme for a region.

Yukon requires burning permits from April 1 to September 30, and institutes fire restrictions based on current fire danger ratings in different regions.

The Northwest Territories and Quebec currently have no restrictions in place.

Prognosis

Currently, much of the country is experiencing seasonal, cool conditions driven by a slowly moving upper trough. In the next few days, patchy precipitation is expected in most areas, with the greatest amounts expected in southern British Columbia (5-10mm) and southern Ontario/Quebec (10-30mm). As this precipitation is driven by a continually weakening trough, lightning activity will likely subside going into the weekend. The area extending from northeast Saskatchewan to southeast Manitoba and western Ontario will likely receive only trace amounts of precipitation and remain dry during this period

Over the weekend, a ridge will build over Alberta causing warm and dry conditions over most of central Canada. The ridge is expected to remain over the prairies till the end of May, and dry conditions will likely persist till mid-June. By the end of May, Fire Indices for much of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and western Ontario will once again be high.

Weekly graphs (current as of: May 23, 2025)