Wildfires have been occurring frequently in Canada in 2025, a worrying milestone for the global climate crisis. Extreme heat, prolonged drought, and strong winds have combined to create ideal conditions for the spread of these fires, putting entire communities at risk, leaving some ecosystems fragile, and damaging air quality in some regions. The impact is already extending beyond borders, creating environmental challenges for the country.
A scenario of unprecedented destruction
Canada’s second-worst wildfire season on record has already burned 7.8 million hectares and could continue for weeks, federal government officials said Monday. Warmer than usual weather forecast from now until the end of September for southern British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan creates a significant risk of new fires, since those areas remain very dry, they said.
Present fires have a “high likelihood” of being able to continue burning or smoldering “well into autumn” because of the higher-than-usual temperatures forecast, said Julienne Morissette of Natural Resources Canada. Fires have also affected Atlantic provinces Newfoundland and Nova Scotia this year, due to unusual dryness. More than 60% of Canada’s burned areas have been in the western provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, however.
Since 2023 more than 25 million hectares of Canadian land have been burned by wildfires, causing massive smoke plumes to flow across Canada and well south into much of the United States. Some local U.S. politicians have complained about the smoke from Canada ruining summer activities and vacations. Canada’s wildfire seasons have caused mass evacuations in a number of parts of northern Canada, where many Indigenous people live. About 13,000 people from First Nations are still evacuated.
Mass evacuation is the emergency response to the climate crisis
During the peak of the evacuations in early summer, military aircraft helped bring people from isolated forest communities to emergency shelters, including hotel rooms thousands of kilometres away in Niagara Falls, Ont. Some communities require repair work to infrastructure and homes after fire and smoke inundated hard-to-reach areas, making it hard for some evacuees to return even after the fire risks subside, officials said.
Federal officials said climate change had worsened the wildfire risk across Canada. Warmer average temperatures and longer snow-free seasons mean there is more potential for fires than in the past. “Increasingly fires are an all-year event, and as Canadians we need to be fire-smart all year,” said Corey Hogan, parliamentary secretary to the minister of energy and natural resources.
Vulnerable communities and social impacts
Due to the fires, mass evacuations have been taking place, which has further exposed the vulnerability of some indigenous and rural communities in the country. Some of these communities were already facing infrastructure difficulties before the tragedy. In addition to material losses, psychological and cultural effects are also evident, with families being forced to abandon traditionally occupied territories.
What are the future prospects for the climate change scenario?
With the recurrence of intense fire seasons, this scenario is likely to become a new reality in Canada. The signs are clear: drier springs, longer summers, and warm autumns, all of which prolong the critical risk period. In this scenario, the country is challenged to adopt permanent prevention policies. One of these action options is the strengthening of local brigades and constant monitoring of the territory.
The increase in wildfires in Canada this year reinforces that the country is facing a phenomenon, not just a one-off situation. The problem is structural. Fighting the fires needs to go beyond immediate action; it requires a national strategy to adapt to climate change. Meanwhile, communities await the possibility of returning home, and the country must face a future in which prevention and resilience are vital, as part of emergency response efforts.
GCN.com/Reuters