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periods of significant spread. These persistent conditions extended the 2023 wildfire season well into the fall More than 2.84 million hectares of forest and land burned during B.C.’s 2023 wildfire season This amount is 10 times the 20-year average annual area burned and is what would historically be expected over a decade.
Aug 23, 2023 · Aug 23, 2023 6:00 AM. The Impossible Fight to Stop Canada’s Wildfires. Canada’s worst wildfire season ever has put unprecedented strain on the country’s firefighters. Tens of thousands of...
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The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada; the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources; the Honourable Bill Blair, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness; the Honourable Karina Gould, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development; the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change; the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; and the Honourable Dan Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs, provided an update on the wildfire seasonal outlook and the Government of Canada’s continuing efforts to support Canadians through this year’s fire season and future seasons.
June 5, 2023 Ottawa, Ontario Natural Resources Canada
As wildfires become more common and more extreme, the Government of Canada is focused on keeping people safe while strengthening our long-term response. Across the country, several provinces and territories are experiencing a severe wildfire season, and the effects are already widespread. The Government of Canada is committed to a whole-of-government approach to supporting communities affected by wildfires.
Today, the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada; the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources; the Honourable Bill Blair, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness; the Honourable Karina Gould, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development; the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change; the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; and the Honourable Dan Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs, provided an update on the wildfire seasonal outlook and the Government of Canada’s continuing efforts to support Canadians through this year’s fire season and future seasons.
Current June projections indicate the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity across most of the country throughout the 2023 wildland fire season due to ongoing drought and long-range forecasts for warm temperatures. For June, warm and dry conditions will increase wildfire risk in most of Canada from British Columbia and Yukon eastward into western Quebec and the Atlantic region. During July, wildfire potential is expected to expand into Yukon, although the eastern edge will recede from western Quebec into central Ontario.
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) generates monthly forecast maps from April to September. These seasonal forecasts use the most recent fire weather indexes and take into account drought conditions and temperature and precipitation forecasts. These forecasts are compared with the average weather in each region, and the differences are mapped as above or below the average. The forecasts are used as a long-range planning tool by fire resource managers. NRCan publicly shares its forecasting for the fire season with full transparency on the uncertainty inherent in weather projections.
“Updated modelling shows that the 2023 wildfire season will once again be serious in many areas of Canada. The federal government is working with provincial and territorial counterparts, as well as with Indigenous communities, to ensure continued support for those impacted by these fires. As we battle this year's fire season, we are also making significant long-term investments to ensure that we are prepared to mitigate and adapt to the effects of future wildfire seasons. Over the past eight years, the federal government has made wildfire management a top priority and will continue to do so.”
The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson
Minister of Natural Resources
“Modeling is an effective tool for ensuring that we are aware of potential risks and taking steps to prepare for them. We remain in constant contact with provinces and territories, through the Government Operations Centre, and stand ready to support them should they require it. We will continue to be there for Canadians as we work together to prepare for, respond to, and recover from this wildfire season.”
The Honourable Bill Blair
President of the King's Privy Council and Minister of Emergency Preparedness
•Seasonal wildfire forecasts use the most recent fire weather indexes and consider drought conditions and temperature and precipitation forecasts derived from two climate model ensembles known as the Canadian Seasonal to Interannual Prediction System (CanSIPS, operated by Environment and Climate Change Canada).
Current information on national fire conditions is available publicly at all times through NRCan’s Canadian Wildland Fire Information System. Additionally, during the fire season, the Canadian Forest Service supports emergency and fire management agencies through the development of situation reports (fire weather forecasts, situational awareness) and the delivery of fire growth and behaviour models.
The Government of Canada, through Environment and Climate Change Canada, is committed to providing support to all our partners by supplying weather information including detailed precipitation and wind forecasts, smoke dispersion predictions and air quality forecasts. Access the latest weather information with weather.gc.ca.
Under NRCan’s Fighting and Managing Wildfires in a Changing Climate program Training Fund, a two-year Training Pilot is being implemented with a focus on providing support to Indigenous communities and organizations to train firefighters and to better understand the needs and barriers in the sector. A fully launched fund in 2024–2025 will be informed by the learning obtained from the projects under the pilot.
Under NRCan’s Fighting and Managing Wildfires in a Changing Climate program’s Equipment Fund, provinces and territories can cost-share investments for equipment, such as vehicles, mobile units, avionics upgrades (parts), hoses, pumps, enhanced communications equipment, repair of aging equipment and training.
The WildFireSat satellite mission will respond directly to the needs of fire managers in Canada. It will support smoke and air quality monitoring and forecasting, and downstream carbon emission monitoring. WildFireSat will also improve our ability to defend Canadian communities, especially the more vulnerable remote northern communities located in forested areas and enable more effective decisions about evacuations.
•Backgrounder: The Government of Canada is supporting Canadians through the 2023 Wildfire Season - Update.
•The Government of Canada Provides Update on Firefighter Training and Support for Canadians Through the 2023 Wildfire Season
- Natural Resources Canada
Jun 9, 2023 · More than 1,100 firefighters from around the world have been dispatched across Canada to help combat the country’s raging fire season, officials said, including groups from France, Chile, Costa...
Jun 9, 2023 · The scale of the fires has stretched firefighting capacity across the country, and firefighters from the United States, South Africa, France, Australia and New Zealand, along with members of...
Jun 28, 2023 · Hundreds of international firefighters who are helping overwhelmed Canadians battle unprecedented wildfires face a complex task in the heart of the boreal forest scorched by uncontrolled...
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Jun 1, 2023 · In addition to providing an update on the present situation, the Ministers also announced that through the Fighting and Managing Wildfires in a Changing Climate Program (FMWCC), the Government of Canada has signed nine agreements through the first phase of the Wildfire Training Fund, a $37.9-million fund designed to hire, train and retain firefi...
