A water bomber flies over plumes of smoke from a wildfire near The Pas, Man. More than 160 wildfires burned across Canada on ThursdayManitoba RCMP/Reuters
Out-of-control wildfires in western and central Canada have triggered states of emergency in two provinces and forced thousands to flee their homes as officials warn that warm and windy weather could intensify fire behaviour in the days ahead.
More than 160 wildfires burned across the country on Thursday, with dozens spanning from northwestern Ontario through to the northern regions of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.
In a rare occurrence, the neighbouring provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba each declared a provincial state of emergency a day apart, highlighting the severity of the wildfire season three weeks before the start of summer.
In declaring the emergency for 30 days starting Thursday, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said his province has evacuated at least 15 communities, mostly in the northern region. More than 40 structures, including homes, have been destroyed.
“It’s a very serious situation that we’re faced with,” Mr. Moe told reporters in Prince Albert, Sask. “It looks like it is going to further deteriorate.”
Manitoba declares state of emergency as wildfires rage, forcing evacuations
Marlo Pritchard, president and fire commissioner at the province’s safety agency, said Saskatchewan has already recorded 206 wildfires this year – well over the five-year annual average of 125. There were 17 active wildfires burning in the province on Thursday, eight of which were uncontained.
“Over the next couple days, we’re anticipating high temperatures and winds, which is again going to fuel the situation,” Mr. Pritchard said.
Three First Nations in the province – the Lac La Ronge Indian Band, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation and Montreal Lake Cree Nation – had already declared a localized state of emergency by late Wednesday, saying evacuation routes have been cut off and some communities are being boxed in by fire and smoke.
Meanwhile, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew on Wednesday declared a state of emergency as wildfires forced more than 17,000 people to evacuate. That included the mining city of Flin Flon, where roughly 5,000 people live along the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border.
The majority of Manitoba’s evacuees have fled to Winnipeg, where they are being housed in arenas and soccer fields. YMCA locations are also offering free access for showers and children’s programming.
The city’s mayor, Scott Gillingham, told The Globe and Mail he has never seen an evacuation effort of this magnitude.
At the Billy Mosienko Arena in the city, a long line of evacuees snaked around the parking lot to register inside a makeshift reception centre. Canadian Red Cross and provincial officials had been stationed there since Wednesday night, while Mr. Kinew visited and spoke privately with evacuees there late Thursday.
Crippling wildfires in northern Manitoba have prompted a provincewide state of emergency. The fires have forced 17,000 people from their homes in remote communities and First Nations, including 6,000 in and around the city of Flin Flon.
The Canadian Press
David Monias, Chief of Pimicikamak Cree Nation, said nearly 800 people in his community need to be evacuated, but the wildfires have left the nearest airport non-operational. Residents from Pimicikamak are relying on the few roads that can lead them to a ferry toward Norway House Cree Nation, about 800 kilometres north of Winnipeg.
“But it’s very dangerous because Highway 6 is cut off, and so we only have the escape route to Norway House,” Mr. Monias said by phone Thursday.
Norway House is also being vacated, though a full-scale evacuation has not been ordered. A Hercules aircraft from the Canadian Armed Forces landed there on Thursday to transport evacuees.
Sheila Sutherland said she waited for nine hours overnight with her daughters and sister before they were able to board a ferry for Norway House, where they sheltered Thursday. She’s hoping to return home when it is safe.
“I can’t believe we left everything behind – my whole life, my daughter’s stuffies and toys, my books.”
There are 22 active wildfires in Manitoba, with 103 in total this year. Before this week, the 20-year average for the region was 78 annual fires.
In Alberta, there were 47 active fires on Thursday, including 25 deemed out of control, and evacuation orders were issued for the communities of Chipewyan Lake, Red Earth Creek, Loon Lake, Peerless Lake and Trout Lake.
Swan Hills, a community of nearly 1,300 residents about 175 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, has been under evacuation order since Monday.
B.C.’s wildfires are mostly in a remote, northwest region of the province. Strong winds, low relative humidity and a spike in temperature worsened conditions Wednesday, but fires remain far from towns, Indigenous communities, highways and other infrastructure.
Late Thursday, a roughly 1,100-hectare fire south of Dawson Creek, near the B.C.-Alberta border, triggered an evacuation order for the Kiskatinaw River area.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, emergency crews continued to battle a blaze Thursday near the town of Churchill Falls, deploying waterbombers and helicopters. First discovered Wednesday, that fire has since moved east, away from the town.
Wildfires have run rampant across Western Canada in recent years, including the devastating 2021 blaze that razed Lytton, B.C., and the massive fire last summer in Alberta’s Jasper National Park.
The Weather Network has forecasted warmer-than-normal temperatures for most of the country this summer. Areas stretching from the Rockies to northwestern Ontario face a forecasted risk of extended heat waves and a few days of extreme heat, while Eastern Canada is expected to experience warm and humid conditions.
B.C.’s wildfires are mostly in a remote, northwest region of the province. Strong winds, low relative humidity and a spike in temperature worsened conditions Wednesday, but fires remain far from towns, Indigenous communities, highways and other infrastructure.
Late Thursday, a roughly 1,100-hectare fire south of Dawson Creek, near the B.C.-Alberta border, triggered an evacuation order for the Kiskatinaw River area.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, emergency crews continued to battle a blaze Thursday near the town of Churchill Falls, deploying waterbombers and helicopters. First discovered Wednesday, that fire has since moved east, away from the town.The Weather Network has forecasted warmer-than-normal temperatures for most of the country this summer. Areas stretching from the Rockies to northwestern Ontario face a forecasted risk of extended heat waves and a few days of extreme heat, while Eastern Canada is expected to experience warm and humid conditions.
Wildfires have forced more than 17,000 people from their homes in Manitoba. First Nations leaders say there were challenges in getting people out of some communities. (May 29, 2025)
The Canadian Press