Canada is burning again this summer — from British Columbia to Labrador. We travel this country and write about it, so we’ve pulled it together: what’s happening in each region, where the official maps are, and how to plan trips without putting yourself at risk.
July 2026 has been a hard month for Canada. Fires are burning simultaneously across eight provinces and the territories, smoke is blanketing whole regions and crossing into the United States, and thousands of people have already left their homes. According to Natural Resources Canada, roughly 2.47 million hectares have burned so far this season. The national preparedness level has been raised to four — meaning significant fire behaviour across multiple jurisdictions and high demand for firefighting resources, which CIFFC moves to wherever the need is greatest.
The West: British Columbia and Alberta
British Columbia had 29 active fires, ten of them out of control. The greatest concern is the Brunswick Creek and Ainslie Creek complex (about 19,400 hectares combined) in the Fraser Canyon, where evacuation orders and alerts are in place and travel on Highway 1 between Boston Bar and Boothroyd is intermittently affected. On July 15 a new fire, Signal Hill, broke out five kilometres from Highway 99 near Pemberton — and the next day part of the village was placed on evacuation alert. The bigger risk lies ahead: the BC Wildfire Service has warned of dry lightning from the Okanagan east to the Alberta border which, combined with drought, wind and heat in the mid-30s, could trigger a “significant wildfire event.” So if you’re planning B.C., check the updates daily.
In Alberta things are calmer than to the east and west, but the province runs its own system of bans and restrictions that vary across ten forest areas, so check the status before every departure — especially heading into the mountains or onto Crown land.
The Prairies: Saskatchewan and Manitoba
Saskatchewan is burning at elevated levels; the province has already seen evacuations this season, including around Shellbrook. Manitoba is under a provincewide state of emergency, with most of the province under extreme fire danger; the fires are concentrated in the northern forests, and evacuation orders are in effect for a number of communities. For travellers that means not just closed parks but possible restrictions on backcountry travel and campfires.
Ontario: this week’s epicentre
The most severe situation right now is in northwestern Ontario, where a wildfire emergency has been declared. Fires have swept the Nipigon, Sioux Lookout, Red Lake, Dryden and Fort Frances districts, pressing close to Wabakimi and Quetico provincial parks, Lake Nipigon and communities along the Minnesota border (some fires actually crossed from the U.S.). Remote communities, including First Nations, are being evacuated, and Thunder Bay is serving as a regional reception centre. The province has requested federal assistance. And on July 15, Toronto briefly recorded the worst air quality of any major city in the world — smoke reached the city from hundreds of kilometres away, and on into New York, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Quebec and the East
Quebec has already had 297 fires in its intensive protection zone this season and 272 in the northern zone — more than 660,000 hectares in total. Nine fires are currently burning in the populated south (two out of control), with about 175 more in the north. Things have eased slightly: the open-fire ban that covered nearly the whole province has been partly lifted, though it remains in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Lanaudière, the Laurentians, Nord-du-Québec and the Outaouais. It’s a telling sign of how national this story is: crews from British Columbia, Alberta, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island have travelled in to help Quebec’s firefighters.
One of the northern fires has already crossed into Labrador, so the provinces are coordinating. And in Atlantic Canada the season has already cost a life: a firefighter died battling a blaze in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia.
The North
In the Northwest Territories, the Sahtu region near Great Bear Lake is burning — the smoke there is so thick that NASA’s satellite images can’t see the ground beneath it. The North typically burns long and far from people, but it’s often these fires that produce the smoke seen thousands of kilometres away.
Official maps and sources — save these
The main tip: don’t navigate by rumours and reposts — go to the primary sources. These are the ones we use:
| Jurisdiction | Official source |
|---|---|
| Canada (overall) | Wildland fires — Natural Resources Canada |
| Canada (maps and forecasts) | Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWFIS) |
| Satellite hotspots | NASA FIRMS |
| British Columbia | BC Wildfire Service Dashboard + EmergencyInfoBC |
| Alberta | Alberta Wildfire Status |
| Manitoba | FireView, status and bulletins, bans and restrictions, MB Ready |
| Quebec | SOPFEU — current situation |
| Ontario, Saskatchewan, Atlantic, territories | Each province’s agency and Parks Canada — links are collected on the CWFIS page |
For air quality, check the AQHI from Environment and Climate Change Canada, and before heading into a national park, the Parks Canada bulletins too.
How to plan travel in conditions like these
We love spontaneous getaways ourselves, but this summer calls for a different approach — a flexible plan and a check the day before:
- Check the maps and restrictions on the day you leave. Things change within hours: a road open in the morning can be closed by evening.
- Don’t build rigid itineraries. Have a plan B — another park, another direction, other dates.
- Respect closures and bans. A closed park or road isn’t a “suggestion”; there’s real danger and firefighters’ work behind it.
- Check the restriction level. Provinces differ: some ban only campfires, others also off-road vehicles and even backcountry travel without a permit.
- Watch the air quality. Smoke blankets cities hundreds of kilometres from the flames. If the AQHI is high, cancel outdoor activities — especially with children, older people and anyone with breathing problems.
- Fuel up and stay connected. In remote areas: full tank, offline maps, charged power bank, emergency alerts switched on.
- Cancelling a trip is okay. Tour operators in affected regions are taking a hit, but the best thing you can do is not add work for the crews.
Act as if everything depends on you — because it often does
The most uncomfortable statistic: a significant share of fires is caused by human activity — the Signal Hill fire near Pemberton is also believed to be human-caused. So, briefly and bluntly:
- No open flame during bans. No campfires, no charcoal, no “just a small one, we’ll be careful.”
- Cigarette butts — in an ashtray, never out the window.
- Don’t park on dry grass — a hot catalytic converter lights it up in seconds.
- Sparks from equipment, dragging chains, fireworks — all are real causes of fires.
- No drones anywhere near a fire. Transport Canada prohibits it, with fines and even jail: a drone forces water bombers and helicopters to stop flying, leaving crews on the ground without air support.
- See smoke or flame? Report it to the province’s official line, not to social media.
About animals — wild and domestic
This gets talked about less than it should.
Wildlife. Fires push animals out of their usual ranges, so bears, moose and deer show up near roads and towns more often. Be extra careful driving in smoky areas — visibility drops and an animal can appear suddenly. Don’t approach animals that look disoriented or injured; call the authorities. And remember: hungry or displaced bears are one more reason to always carry spray — we wrote about this in detail in our bear safety guide.
Pets. Smoke harms them as much as us — sometimes more: dogs and cats breathe faster, and flat-faced breeds struggle even more. A few simple rules:
- on heavy smoke days, shorten walks, take the dog out early in the morning and keep them indoors longer;
- watch for symptoms: coughing, laboured breathing, lethargy, red eyes — see a vet;
- never leave an animal in the car — in this heat it’s fatal;
- pack a go-bag for your pet: carrier, water and bowl, a few days of food, medications, leash, a copy of vet records and a recent photo (in case they get lost);
- make sure the microchip and ID tag details are current;
- find out in advance which hotels or centres accept animals — during an evacuation it’s too late to start looking.
Finally
Canada is a country largely covered by boreal forest, and that forest has always burned. But the seasons are getting longer and the fires bigger, so planning travel here is no longer possible without a look at the fire map. We’re adjusting our own plans too: before any outing — from Steep Rock in Manitoba to our Winnipeg-to-Banff road trip — we now check the maps and bulletins first.
Stay safe, look after your loved ones and your four-legged ones. And a special thank you to the firefighters working in these conditions across the country right now — from B.C. to Labrador.
Read next: our bear safety guide for Banff and our Winnipeg-to-Banff road trip.
