Ontario seeing double the 10-year average for wildfires

The number and size of wildfires in northern Ontario this year are substantially higher than average, and have forced thousands of people to flee First Nations communities, the government said Monday.

This year there have been 902 wildfires so far, nearly double the 10-year average of 520. There are currently 151 active wildfires, mostly in the northwest, officials said. More than 520,000 hectares have been burned by those fires, which is more than three times the average of about 153,000.

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which represents 49 First Nations in northern Ontario, as well as the NDP, have called on the province to declare a state of emergency over the wildfires.

But the province says the situation doesn’t meet the legal conditions to declare the state of emergency. In addition to there being a danger of major proportions, there must be a lack of available resources to support the emergency. Sufficient resources are being deployed, the government said.

Premier Doug Ford said he would be going to visit the Thunder Bay command centre on Wednesday.

“We’re throwing every single resource we have up there,” he said, speaking Monday in Ottawa. “Anything they need they’re going to get. I will spare no expense.”

The higher number of fires and larger size this year are the result of extreme drought conditions across most of northern Ontario, where wildfires are sparking easily after lightning strikes, officials said.

Speaking in a briefing Monday, government officials said it’s difficult to attribute any specific fire season to climate change since each year varies widely depending on weather, but that climate change is expected to increase the number and risks of the fires.

Wildfire smoke is affecting air quality and visibility all the way to the Kingston area.