2025 is Canada's second-worst wildfire season on record for area burned
A look at the 2025 wildfire season, now the second-most area burned on record. We have the analysis of this year's season so far
The wildfire season took a bit of a break in July, after rainfall relief in some locales, but has since come to life in a significant way, with many more blazes igniting in Eastern Canada.
In fact, it is now the country's second-worst on record in terms of area burned. Helping to place it in the second position are recent blazes in Eastern Canada.
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In Ontario, fire danger ratings have climbed to extreme levels in several regions, with multiple fires igniting over the weekend in Kawartha Lakes and Bobcaygeon.
In Atlantic Canada, hot temperatures and a relative lack of precipitation may allow any blazes that spark to quickly grow out of control. Provincewide fire bans are in effect for New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, as well as Newfoundland and Labrador. A regional state of emergency has also been declared for a portion of the Bay de Verde peninsula, from Bristol’s Hope to Whiteway, due to out-of-control wildfires.
Second-worse wildfire season on record for area burned
Canada is now experiencing the second-worst wildfire season on record in terms of area burned, only lagging the unprecedented 2023 wildfire season.
As of Aug. 11, more than 7.3 million hectares have burned--more than double the 10-year average of 2.9 million hectares for this time of year.
It’s a big area. It’s larger than Nova Scotia and New Brunswick combined, and 10 times the size of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). If the area burned was a country, it would be larger than Ireland.
The number of fires is not exceptionally high. In fact, it’s trending near normal. This year’s total of just more than 4,300 fires is actually below the 10-year average of 4,384 for this time of year.
Even 2023, with 6,623 fires, was only modestly above the long-term normal. The difference comes down to scale: The fires are fewer in number but far, far larger--driving record-level area burned.
This season, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are responsible for more than half the area burned nationally.
Saskatchewan: 2,732,792 hectares burned is about 4.20 per cent of the province’s total area.
Manitoba: 1,730,020 hectares burned is about 2.67 per cent of the province’s total area.
2023 versus 2025
Saskatchewan is the standout gainer with burned area nearly 50 per cent higher than 2023. Manitoba dramatically surged from 198,634 hectares in 2023 to 1.74 million hectares in 2025--an 8.8 times increase. Quebec has had a 99.9 per cent drop in wildfire activity compared to 2023--5.2 million hectares to nearly nothing in 2025 (just 5,006 hectares).
Some rain is expected in the fire zones across the northern Prairies this week. But much of Atlantic Canada will remain dry, meaning wildfires will likely continue to expand in that region.
Last year, more than 5.32 hectares of area were burned, whereas 2025 has already seen 6.6 million hectares scorched.
Thumbnail courtesy of the Government of Manitoba.
With files from Tyler Hamilton, a meteorologist at The Weather Network.