Toronto, Canada. Ontario requested federal assistance to support evacuations from remote northern communities threatened by wildfires, while smoke worsened air quality in Toronto and much of the northeastern United States.
Canada had more active wildfires by Thursday than at the same point in the previous two years, with a larger area burned than in 2025. Most fires were located in remote areas of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario.
Evacuations in northern Ontario
The province submitted a formal request to the Government of Canada to prepare for an accelerated deployment of federal resources, including Canadian Armed Forces personnel, to assist with evacuations, Ontario Emergency Preparedness Minister Jill Dunlop said on X.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said the federal government was in close contact with provincial and municipal authorities and would provide further assistance as needed.
“The wildfire situation has escalated significantly over the last three weeks across the country, and particularly in Northwestern Ontario,” Carney said on Wednesday night. “Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their communities, not knowing if their homes will survive.”
Community destroyed
Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, also known as Collins First Nation, was evacuated on Monday after a fast-moving wildfire reached the area near Armstrong, more than 500 kilometres north of Toronto, CBC News reported.
Residents went door to door to alert community members before more than two dozen people and their pets escaped on several boats as flames approached homes. Chief Helen Paavola told CBC that the entire community was destroyed in less than an hour.
The fire affecting the Armstrong area, including Namaygoosisagagun and nearby Whitesand First Nation, had expanded to more than 350,000 hectares by Thursday, according to Ontario’s Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services.
National fire situation
Wildfires have disproportionately affected remote Indigenous communities in recent years. Indigenous Services Canada said 1,600 people had been evacuated from First Nations communities because of fires this season as of July 15.
Canada had 859 active fires on Thursday, including 113 classified as out of control, according to the government. A total of 2.384 million hectares, or 5.89 million acres, had burned.
