2025-Nov-07
Ontario's Wildfire Season Wraps Up With 597,654 Hectares Burned
Ontario’s 2025 wildland fire season has concluded, and fire crews responded to 643 fires between April and October, burning 597,654 hectares of land. This is a significant increase from 2024, which saw 480 fires and 90,000 hectares burned. This year, the biggest fires were much bigger, a worrisome trend that looks likely to continue. Only 2% of fires account for 98% of the total forest area burned each year. Quick containment is essential to avoid catastrophic damage.
The map below shows the fires that occurred in cottage country this past summer. There were a lot of fires and they were close! We were lucky that we didn’t have any big out of control fires in the area like we did in 2018 when Parry Sound 33 burned 12,000 hectares.
Wildfires pose an increasing threat to Ontario, and the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) has done a commendable job managing risks and responding to threats despite strained resources. The emergency wildfire suppression budget has doubled in the last decade, yet the Aviation Forest Fire and Emergency Services (AFFES) branch has exceeded its budget almost every year. Firefighter numbers have decreased, with Fire Rangers dropping from 732 to 630 over the last decade. Additionally, three of the province’s nine waterbombers were grounded this season due to a lack of pilots.
The province is taking steps to address these issues, including adding 68 permanent firefighting and support staff positions for the 2026 season and investing over $500 million in six new De Havilland DHC-515 waterbombers, expected to arrive in the early 2030s. However, fire activity across Canada is projected to double by the end of the century, which could require Ontario to increase its firefighting resources sixfold.
A Call For Federal Action
A consortium of industry, business, and environmental groups, including the Mining Association of Canada, Ducks Unlimited, and the World Wildlife Fund, is calling for the federal government to invest $4.1 billion over the next five years in wildfire prevention and suppression. This includes funding for high-frequency satellite feeds and detection drones to create a “continuous surveillance layer”. The goal is to enhance the ability to quickly detect and fight fires, reducing losses by up to 78%.
The proposed investment would also establish a shared surge capacity of waterbombers and crews that can deploy nationwide, replacing the current system of provincial competition for resources. A shift to a year-round wildfire fighting model is also recommended, citing British Columbia as a model for this transition.
The need for action is clear. With wildfire severity and frequency quadrupling in the last 50 years, and carbon emissions from forest fires now nearly equal to all other Canadian emissions, the time for change is now. The consortium’s proposal offers a comprehensive approach to addressing the growing threat of wildfires in Canada, and it’s up to policymakers to take the necessary steps to implement it.
Read more about the 2025 wildfire season here and more about the call for federal funding here.