The 2025 wildfire season is already one of the worst on record for Canada and there is a high risk that more fires will break out in August, federal officials said on Friday.
More than 5.5 million hectares of land have burned so far this year, more than double the 10-year average for mid-July.
That is still well behind the record fire season in 2023, when more than 6,000 fires burned more than 15 million hectares of land.
There were 561 fires burning as of Friday, including 69 that were considered out of control.
Officials said the fire risk typically rises throughout August and they are predicting higher than normal temperatures for most of the country next month.
“This is consistent with climate change projections, which show that the next five years will be warmer than (we) are used to,” said Sebastien Chouinard, the director of operations at the Canadian meteorological centre.
Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski, speaking during a federal government update on the current Canadian wildfire season, says that the ‘safety of Canadians is our first priority at all times.’
August is also slated to bring below-normal rainfall levels for the Prairies, B.C. and the Maritimes.
Saskatchewan has already seen one of the worst fire seasons ever in terms of area burned, and a record number of people have been forced out of their homes in that province.
More than 530 firefighters from Australia, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Mexico and the United States are in Canada to help.
