National Wildland Fire Situation Report

National Wildland Fire Situation Report

Archived reports

Current as of: August 20, 2025

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

Priority fires

Newfoundland and Labrador: Martin Lake – the fire is estimated 1,770 hectares in size and is currently listed as out of control.

Paddy’s Pond (near Town of Paradise) – the fire is estimated 318 hectares in size and is currently listed as being held.

Conception Bay North wildfire – the fire is estimated 10,708 hectares in size and is currently listed as out of control.

New Brunswick: Old Field (208) is estimated 1,402 hectares in size and is currently listed as being held.

Nova Scotia: Long Lake Complex (Annapolis County) is estimated 3,210 hectares in size and is currently listed as out of control.

Interagency mobilization

Canada is at National Preparedness Level 5, indicating that there is full commitment of national resources and demand for interagency resources through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center (CIFFC) is extreme. Since national availability of resources is limited, international resources are being mobilized.

Nova Scotia is at Agency Preparedness Level (APL) 5, Manitoba, and New Brunswick are at level 4, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador are at Level 3, and all other agencies at 2 or lower. At APL 5, agencies have extreme Fire Danger, anticipate extreme fire Load in the next week, and do not have adequate resources to manage fires. At the time of this report, there are domestic and international personnel, aircraft, and fire fighting equipment being mobilized through CIFFC and compact agreements.

The United States is at preparedness level 4, indicating shared resources are heavily committed, and national trends affect all geographic areas.

The number of fires is about average for this time of year, but the area burned to date is significantly more than the 10-year average. There were 45 number of fires started by lightning over the last week.

Weekly Synopsis

In British Columbia, there are Category 2 and 3 Open Fire restrictions across all regions, and campfire bans in the Coastal region.

In Alberta, there are fire bans, in Wood Buffalo National Park and in the foothill areas of the province.

In Saskatchewan, there are fire bans and restrictions in the northwest and southwest regions of the province.

In Manitoba, there are municipal fire restrictions in place around Thompson, east and south of Flin Flon, and throughout the southern areas of the province.

In New Brunswick there all Crown land in the province will close due to an extreme wildfire hazard. There is a fire ban across the entire province in effect.

In Nova Scotia a provincewide burn ban is in effect. No open fires allowed. Travel and activities in woods are restricted.

In Prince Edward Island has issued a fire closure order that bans all fires including campfires, until further notice. Domestic brush burning is banned, and permits are now revoked for industrial and agricultural burns regardless of weather conditions.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, a province-wide fire ban remains in effect. This ban will be in place until at least September 7.

Yukon normal burning restrictions apply across the territory.

There are no burning restrictions in Northwest Territories, Ontario, Québec.

Prognosis

Rain through much of Canada has reduced the area susceptible to new fire. Dry conditions are still prevalent in southern Yukon, much of the Northwest Territories, and southern parts of the Atlantic region. Hurricane Erin will likely not have a dramatic impact on Atlantic Canada as it passed Friday and Saturday (August 22-23) although wind speeds will likely increase in Nova Scotia and eastern Newfoundland. Drying will gradually spread eastward through the western provinces over the next few days.

A low-pressure system moving across northern parts of the western provinces will generate showers and thundershowers between eastern British Columbia and Ontario over the next few days. Drying occurs from west to east as this system moves along.

By Saturday, August 23, this low has moved into Ontario and a high pressure ridge forms over western Canada. Some weak systems moving across the top of the ridge will drop southeast into the central Prairies and generate spotty showers or thundershowers. Temperatures will be warm in British Columbia and most of Alberta, although northeastern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba will have cooler temperatures. Low to moderate humidity will favor rising fire weather indexes, faster in the west and slower in the eastern Prairies.

The ridge will continue for several days, and last through this forecast period. Weak pockets of moisture may allow occasional airmass shower or thundershower development, slightly increasing the risk of new lightning-caused fires.

Southern parts of Yukon and the Northwest Territories continue to be dry while a greater chance of showers prevails in the far north. Some lightning strikes could trigger a fire or two in the drier central and southern parts of these regions.

Hurricane Erin’s projected path continues to lie off the east coast of North America. It should pass just to the east of Nova Scotia on Friday, August 22 and Newfoundland on Saturday, August 23. Winds will likely increase from the north and some high cloud will likely drift across these regions as Erin passes, but rain will likely stay over the ocean. Humidity may drop a bit temporarily as the air is drawn in from the landmass.

Weekly graphs (current as of: August 20, 2025)