Wildfires: Federal Response

Current Wildfire Situation

The combination of extreme heat, dry conditions, and gusting winds have exacerbated numerous active wildfires.

Across Canada, we have over 5300 personnel fighting fires and close to 300 aircraft in the field with a surge plan in place so firefighting aircraft can be rapidly deployed wherever conditions are most severe.

Right now, there are more than 40 evacuation aircraft and more than 80 firefighting aircraft and helicopters involved in fighting wildfire operations in Northwestern Ontario. These assets include:

  1. Water bombers (scoopers and airtankers)
  2. Helicopters used for bucket drops
  3. Reconnaissance and command aircraft
  4. Personnel transport aircraft

Counting professional and volunteer personnel, Canada can mobilize in the order of 15,000 wildland firefighters in a year. Over 2,000 of these were recently trained under new federal programming.

Since 2020, Canada has invested $12 billion in forests sustainability and fire prevention. These investments include early warning technology, combining data from 2,500+ weather stations, satellites, fire behaviour models, and AI-enabled detection technologies, including cameras, drones, and thermal imaging, to provide near real-time wildfire detection, mapping, and situational awareness across Canada.


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2026-07-19