More than 850 active wildfires are currently burning across Canada. This includes parts of Northern Ontario. Some Ontario flames are tearing through structures, compelling residents to evacuate as smoke spreads across the province.
Guided by the latest data from the province, there are 180 active wildland fires, 136 of which are in Ontario’s northwest region, with 63 of them classified as out of control. In addition to these fires, there are 44 more in the northeast, 9 of which are out of control.
A total of 8 new fires were discovered in the northeast region, with 8 more in the northwest, as reflected in Tuesday 14 July’s & Wednesday 15 July’s evening updates.
Several Ontario communities that included Armstrong, Lac La Croix 1st Nation, Whitesand 1st Nation, Gull Bay 1st Nation, and Lac des Mille Lacs 1st Nation have been ordered to evacuate due to these wildfires.
The focus continues to be on priority areas where fire suppression efforts are most likely to be successful. Top priorities have been the protection of wildland firefighting personnel & public safety and critical infrastructure. Also, this effort is beyond capturing, where possible, new fires. So said the province on Wednesday, 15 July’s, evening update, which was the latest available as of 0900hrs on Thursday, 16 July ’26.
The types of wildland fires witnessed on the landscape are either large in size or close to communities or other important structures or resources. They require the full deployment of Canada’s available resources.
There have been 483 wildfires recorded inside Ontario’s fire region during ’26. In comparison, there were only 351 wildfires recorded last year, which is above the 10-year average of 320.
Amrstrong resident Diane Laybourne fled to Thunder Bay when the evacuation order was issued. She shared that she had never before experienced anything like this in her more than 60 years as a resident in Armstrong.
What was strange in this move was that I had just returned to Armstrong from Thunder Bay. Laybourne told CTV Your Morning that she had time to only pack some clothes & whatever she needed and got on board her vehicle to drive south to Thunder Bay again.
