Archived reports

• Data courtesy of the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC).
• Check the Air Quality Health Index for air quality in your area.

Priority fires

1. BC: 8 fires totalling 963,000 hectares burned. Many active fires are threatening infrastructure and private property. Several evacuation orders are in place, affecting over 2000 people.
2. Parks Canada: 2 fires totalling 18,000 hectares. Both are currently burning away from highways and populated places.
3. Saskatchewan: The Preston Fire (20,000 hectares) is threatening Pelican Narrows (3500 residents evacuated).
4. Manitoba: Fire NE269 (14,000 hectares) is threatening Wasagamack and two other communities (up to 3700 evacuated).

Interagency mobilization

The National Preparedness Level is 5 in both Canada and the United States. British Columbia at level 5; Saskatchewan and Manitoba are at level 4; Alberta, Ontario, and Parks Canada are at level 3. The remaining agencies are level 1 or 2. Fires in British Columbia and Saskatchewan account for most of the area burned in the past week. Almost all agencies have resources mobilized to BC, along with resources from Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and the US.

Weekly Synopsis

Canada has recorded 4,870 fires so far this year, which have burned 2,983,460 ha. New fire starts totalled 217, which is well above average for this time of year. While the total number of fires so far this year is below the 10-year average, the area burned is above average (118%).

Fire danger has generally increased over much of Canada over the past few days as a large high pressure area covers the Prairies. The area of elevated fire danger extends to the southwestern Northwest Territories and east to extreme western Ontario. Pacific air entering British Columbia is bringing cooler and showery conditions to the northern half of the province, with spotty showers falling on the fires in the Cariboo region. Hot temperatures and extreme fire danger linger in southern parts of the western provinces.

A cold front that passed through northern Ontario and Quebec on Tuesday, August 29 brought thundershowers and cooler air, temporarily reducing fire danger in eastern Ontario and northern Quebec. The front continues southeast today, and behind it a large surface high is developing brisk, warm winds from the southeast across Alberta and Saskatchewan. A tropical depression moving northeast off the Atlantic coast is bringing showers through the eastern Maritime Provinces, although patchy high fire danger remains between the St Lawrence Valley and southern New Brunswick.

Prognosis

Southern British Columbia is expected to remain warm and dry, with no sign of rain other than spotty showers, leaving the southern third of the province vulnerable to human and lightning fire ignitions. Frequent showers will continue through central and northern regions, with a narrow band of rain possibly giving a few millimetres of rain to fires in the southern Prince George and northern Cariboo regions on Saturday and Sunday (September 2-3). A large ridge is forecasted to rebuild and pinch off the moisture supply early in the week of September 3, returning warm and dry weather to a large portion of British Columbia and Alberta.

Warm and windy weather is predicted to move eastward through the Prairies and Ontario between Wednesday, August 30 and Friday, September 1. This will likely result in extreme fire danger and additional fire growth in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and western Ontario until cooler and showery weather follows on the weekend. This may reduce fire danger and activity substantially in Manitoba and Ontario by the middle of the coming week.