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Nearly 200 wildfires are blazing across northern Ontario, officials say, already burning a larger swath of land than all of last year’s fires, quickly destroying at least one remote community and leaving some with little time to flee.
Premier Doug Ford and other provincial officials in an update Friday gave a sense of the massive and rapidly changing scope of the fires and the efforts to bring them under control.
More than 150 fire crews and over 80 water bombers and helicopters are battling the blazes, Ford said, but still there are about 190 wildfires across northern Ontario, with 81 of those fires out of control.
Information from the Ministry of Natural Resources shows that 20 new fires were confirmed Friday in the northeast region alone.
Evacuating communities at risk and getting people to safety is the most important job, Ford said.
“This is a very difficult situation, even to fly in to these communities on dirt runways, when the fire is going and the smoke, our No. 1 priority is to make sure they’re safe, and that’s what we’ve accomplished,” he said.
“Last year we had over 600,000 hectares on fire. This year, and it’s changing on a daily, hourly basis, it’s 650,000 acres already. Thank God, no one has died.”
Ten northern communities have already been evacuated or have evacuations underway, and four more are preparing for possible evacuations, Ford said.
Some First Nations leaders have criticized the government’s response and communication, in particular in the case of Whitesand First Nation and Namaygoosisagagun First Nation – also known as Collins First Nation – who evacuated residents without help from the province.
Dramatic photos and videos show people fleeing in boats as a wall of thick smoke and flames rose from behind them.
Natural Resources Minister Mike Harris said the fire near Collins First Nation started very close to the community and was spreading four kilometres per hour, a rate that is “unheard of,” so there was not a lot of lead time to get crews over there.
“We have not seen fire behaviour like this,” he said. “From the time the fire was spotted to the time it was essentially on top of everybody, it was only within a couple of hours, so we did our best.”
The union representing Ontario’s wildland firefighters, pilots and support staff accused the province of understaffing its wildfire response.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union said the province has about 153 fire crews available, but should have at least 250 to adequately respond to fire seasons that have been increasing in severity.
“Whole communities are burning down. Not having enough staff is a result of intentional choices by the Ford government,” OPSEU President JP Hornick said in a statement.
Ford said Friday that the province added 68 new permanent positions ahead of this year’s wildfire season. The Ministry of Natural Resources did not say what those roles are or if they have been filled when asked by The Canadian Press.
Ford also defended his government’s wildfire budget, saying the province set aside $150 million for fighting forest fires but “every year we spend significantly more than that.”
Smoke from the fires in northern Ontario has been drifting south, prompting air quality warnings across a large swath of the province, including Toronto.
Environment Canada said the hazy, smoky conditions may briefly improve before poor air quality returns. Smoky skies could persist into the weekend, the weather agency said.
Communities under evacuation orders include Armstrong, Lac La Croix First Nation, Whitesand First Nation, Gull Bay First Nation and Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation.
The province added an evacuation order Friday for an area along Highway 11, east of Atikokan and south of Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation.
Ford said evacuees are being hosted in cities including Thunder Bay, Kenora, Sudbury, Niagara Falls and Toronto.
Under a hazy sky in Thunder Bay, residents have been donating what they can to those escaping the fires.
Donna Leonzio dropped off baby food, sanitary products, juice boxes and snacks at a hotel where some evacuees are staying.
“I can certainly go and spend some money for these people who have nothing and may have nothing when they go home,” she said.
The Thunder Bay resident said people are evacuated to the city every year, whether they’re fleeing fire or flood, “but we’ve never had this many before.”
Ford said that Alberta and the Yukon have sent crews to help Ontario battle the fires. Alberta has said that it also sent 13 aircraft, including two water bombers, to the province.
The Ministry of Natural Resources said the province has about 120 aircraft available to help with firefighting, including 25 that are ministry-owned and 80 that have been contracted.
Ontario’s fleet includes nine waterbombers and eight helicopters, the ministry said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 17, 2026.
– with files from Sharif Hassan in Thunder Bay, Ont.
Kathryn Mannie and Allison Jones, The Canadian Press
