Could Canada’s wildfire season last until the snow falls?

Canada is likely to see higher-than-normal fire activity across much of the country well into the fall. Officials say B.C., Ontario and parts of the north could see that potential last until the end of September.

Officials with Natural Resources (NRC) and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) painted the grim forecast on Friday, while saying Canadians should continue to prepare for longer and tougher fire seasons in the years to come, while already experiencing the worst wildfire season on record.

“There’s huge variability we will see between years, but the long-term trend is clear that we’ll be seeing fires earlier in the spring, we’ll see them a bit later in the fall and temperature and precipitation amounts will lead to large and aggressive fires trending upwards in general,” Michael Norton, the director general of the Canadian Forestry Service with Natural Resources Canada told reporters.

According to the forecast, August is expected to have potential fire activity from B.C. to Quebec, while in September the reach will decrease but still impact southern B.C., the Prairies, the Northwest Territories and western Ontario.

When asked if the season could extend past September, officials from both Environment Canada and Natural Resources said they expect to see the trends for above normal temperatures to decrease into the fall limiting the amount of fires.

However, wildland fire manager Brian Simpson cautioned it would not be unusual for fires to burn into October, and the current widespread drought nationwide means fire activity could continue until snowfall.

As of Friday, there are 1,138 wildfires burning in the country with 817 designated out of control and 13.4 million hectares burned.

Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan said approximately 2,600 people remain evacuated across the country and more than 100 Indigenous communities have been impacted by the ongoing blazes.

3:05 Wet weather provides some relief in B.C. wildfire fight

“This has been the worst firefighting season,” he said. “We need to come together.”

He said resources will be needed at all levels and governments will need to collaborate.

Part of the federal strategy, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said on Friday, is training more firefighters to help in tackling the flames.

Wilkinson and Sajjan announced $400,000 will go towards a pilot project to build wildfire fighting capacity, with the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) training 25 instructors on how to deliver “consistent and effective wildfire response training.” The IAFF is also expected to deliver 15 courses across Western Canada, training up to 325 structural firefighting personnel.

“This is one of the many investments we’re making to built the capabilities that Canadians will need moving forward, by training more firefighters and working with communities, provinces and territories, and others to build more resilient and safer communities,” Wilkinson said.

Asked about the potential of creating a national firefighting group to deploy when provincial and territorial resources are strained, Norton said fire response is primarily a provincial and territorial responsibility for public land management.

There is resource-sharing between jurisdictions, as well as countries, but at this time he did not see a “national” group in the near future and are instead focused on training firefighters including in Indigenous communities.

“The focus is on reinforcing capabilities within the long-standing system of roles and responsibilities that we have right now,” he said, but did not rule it out.

“There’s a broad conversation around emergency preparedness and response in Canada that is always seeking to evolve.”

2:34 Calls for national wildfire fighting force

Data from NRC shows that as of Aug. 10, the National Preparedness Level has remained at level five for 90 days, surpassing the previous record of 50 days set in 2021.

Federal officials say Canada has deployed 5,821 domestic firefighters and 4,990 international firefighters from 12 countries to battle wildfires across the country.

Four firefighters have died this summer fighting wildfires in B.C., Alberta and the Northwest Territories.

-With files from The Canadian Press