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Ontario wildfire crews making progress, but province not in the clear
The Ontario government provided an update on the wildfires burning across the province.
The Minister of Natural Resources says crews are making progress fighting wildfires, with dozens extinguished in the last two weeks and far fewer burning out of control.
The province says of the 152 wildfires burning in the north just 12 are considered “not under control.”
Another 123 are only being observed, with no attempt to put them out or control them due to their remoteness.
Mike Harris says the 2026 wildfire season in terms of the number of fires has not been overly abnormal, but regarding the area burned, this year is “way surpassing” previous years.
He says Ontario recorded its largest wildfire ever this year, at its peak spanning 3,500 square kilometres — about double the size of another fire in recent years.
Fires have forced the evacuation of 14 communities across the province, and six communities have already returned home, while about 1,150 evacuees are still in host communities.
Harris adds that Ontario is not yet in the clear, but he’s confident crews will get the job done.
“As of this morning, there are 152 active fires across the province. Of those, 12 are not under control at this time. And since our last update, an additional 84 –so that’s 84 on top of the 80 that we announced just a short week ago – have been declared out, so great news,” said Harris.
