List of fires in Canada explained

This is a list of fires in Canada. Numbers for buildings only include those destroyed, and area is given in hectares and is converted to acres.

List

ArticleLocationProvinceDatedata-sort-type="number"Deaths!data-sort-type="number"Damage!data-sort-type="number"Buildings!data-sort-type="number"Area in ha/a!Comments
Northern New BrunswickOct 1825 160 to 300 1000000ha2000000ha A series of wildfires.[1]
Fire in Quebec City Quebec City Province of Canada (Quebec) May 1845 20 $1 million 100+ [2]
Fire in Quebec City Quebec City Province of Canada (Quebec) Jun 1845 40 $1.5 million 1,200
St. John'sJun 1846 3 £888,356 600ha
Fire in Toronto Toronto Province of Canada (Upper Canada) Apr 1849 $500,000
Fire in Montreal Montreal Province of Canada (Quebec) Jun 1850 0 $500,000 100
Montreal Province of Canada (Quebec) Jul
1852
0 $5 million 1,200 Nearly half of city's housing destroyed.
Quebec City Province of Canada (Quebec) Oct 1866 $3 million 2,500
Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, QuebecMay 1870 7 15000ha Nearly 1/3 of the population lost everything.
Fire in Quebec City Quebec CityMay 1876 $800,000 700
Fire in Saint-Jean Saint-Jean-sur-RichelieuJun 1876 $2.5 million
Fire in Saint-Hyacinthe Saint-HyacintheSep 1876 $1.25 million 583
Jun 1877 19 $28 million 1,612 [3]
Fire in Hamilton HamiltonAug 1879 $500,000
Fire in Quebec City Quebec CityJun 1881 $2 million 800
Fire in Toronto TorontoJan 1885 $700,000
Jun 1886 24 to 28[4] $1.3 million
North-West Territories (now Alberta) Nov 1886 0 $103,200
St. John'sJul
1892
$13 million
Simpson's fire in Toronto TorontoJan 1895 $600,000
Fire in Windsor WindsorOct 1897 $4 million Most of the town destroyed.
Fire in New Westminster New WestminsterSep 1898 $2 million
Warehouse fire in Montreal MontrealDec 1898 $8 million
Warehouse fire in Montreal MontrealJan 1900 $2.5 million
HullApr 1900 7 $7.5 million Destroyed 2/3 of Hull.
Fire in Sydney SydneyOct 1901 $500,000 60+
Fire in Ottawa OttawaMay 1903 $500,000 300+
Fire in Saint-Hyacinthe Saint-HyacintheMay 1903 $500,000 400+
TorontoApr 1904 $13 million
Fire in Trois-Rivières Trois-RivièresJun 1908 $2 million
Fire in Fernie Aug 1908$4 million Most of the town was destroyed.
TimminsJul
1911
73 to 200 199915ha
Jul
1916
223[5] to 244[6] 49 townships 200000ha The worst fire on record in Ontario's history. Destroyed 49 townships, including the villages of Kelso, Val Gagné, and Iroquois Falls.
Great Fire of 1919 Saskatchewan and eastern Alberta May 191911[7] 2000000ha The first major fire at the wildland-urban interface of the Prairie Provinces.[8]
Timiskaming DistrictOct 1922 43 $2 million 168000ha
St. John'sDec 1942 99 [9]
Mississagi Fire of 1948 Mississagi RiverMay–
Jul 1948
1[10] 280000haThe fire destroyed land over a two-month period between Chapleau and Thessalon.
Alberta
British Columbia
Jun–
Oct 1950
0 1400000ha1700000ha Largest recorded single fire in North American history.
Notre-Dame-du-Lac seniors' home fire Notre-Dame-du-LacDec 1969 40 [11]
ChapaisJan 1980 48 [12]
Manitoba wildfires ManitobaMay, Jul–
Aug 1989
100 homes 2500000ha Drought conditions in Manitoba caused over 1,200 fires to spring up throughout the province.[13] [14]
Hagersville, OntarioFeb 1990 0 0 Unknown 7.3ha Significant ecological damage caused by the melting of 12-14 million tires over 17 days.
ChisholmMay 2001 60+ 116000ha
North Thompson RiverJul–
Aug 2003
0 $31.9 million 81 26420ha 3,800 people evacuated[15]
Aug 2003 0 $33.8 Million[16] 239 25912ha
Jul
2009
0 $403 million[17] 4 9877ha Three separate wildfires.
May 2010 0 90000ha
May 2011 1 (helicopter crash) $750 million[18] 433 4700ha One-third of town destroyed.[19]
Richardson BackcountryMay–Sep 2011 0 $350 to $450 million[20] 700000ha largest fire in Alberta since the 1950 Chinchaga fire.
Timmins Fire 9TimminsMay–Nov 2012 0 39540ha[21] Starting North of Gogama, Timmins 9 was the largest fire the area had seen in nearly a 100 years since the 1911 Great Porcupine Fire.
L'Isle-VerteDec 2014 32 [22]
Northwest Territoriessummer 2014 0 $56.1 million[23] 3400000ha Said to have been the largest wildfires in 30 years in the Northwest Territories[24] Note: Damage is the cost of fire fighting.
Northern Alberta (incl. Fort McMurray) and Saskatchewan
May–
Jul 2016
2
(indirect)[25]
$9.9 billion (direct and indirect costs)[26] [27] [28] 3,244 589552ha Largest wildfire evacuation in Alberta's history.[29] Costliest disaster in Canadian history, cost of $3.58 billion in July, estimate up to $9 billion.
Central and South Interior, and Alberta
Jul–
Sep 2017
0 $586 million[30] 305+[31] 1216053ha[32] Estimated 65,000 evacuated. Largest single wildfire in BC Wildfire history.
2017 Alberta firesAlberta, Saskatchewan
summer 2017 1[33] 14+ Fires possibly caused by power lines downed in a storm.[34]
TemagamiJul–
Aug 2018
0 221ha
Parry Sound DistrictJul–
Oct 2018
0 11362.5ha
British Columbiasummer 2018 50+ [35] 1298454ha Initial estimates put 2018 as the largest total burn-area in any British Columbia wildfire season, surpassing the 2017 wildfire season.[36]
Northwestern and Central AlbertaMar–Dec 2019 16[37] 883414ha[38] Both lightning and human activity have been contributed to the cause, as well several are under investigation. (*as of 18 Oct, 2019)
LyttonJun 2021 2 $78 million Fire started after a record breaking heatwave.
Nova Scotiasummer 2023 0 250+ 24128ha 18,000 evacuated.
Alberta2023 1220000ha Wisconsin had the worst air quality of the year. It was so bad that even the Madison Metropolitan School District in Madison cancelled summer school on June 28th. As well, many local outdoor swimming pools were closed.
2024 Canada wildfiresAlberta and British Columbia
2024Thousands evacuated.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Great Miramichi Fire: The largest fire ever in eastern North America. 8 May 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20101013094259/http://www.gnb.ca/0079/miramichi_fire-e.asp. 13 Oct 2010. GNB.
  2. Web site: Omineca Herald . 3 . 19 Dec 1908 . library.ubc.ca.
  3. Web site: The Great Fire of Saint John, New Brunswick, 1877 . 17 Dec 2008.
  4. Web site: Great Vancouver Fire Stories. MOV. Museum of Vancouver. 8 May 2016.
  5. Web site: The Great Fire of 1916 . Ontario Heritage Foundation . 26 May 2005 . https://web.archive.org/web/20050526172347/http://www.heritagefdn.on.ca/userfiles/page_attachments/Library/1/3259506_Great_Fire_of_1916_ENG.pdf.
  6. Web site: 16 May 2011 . List: Canada's most destructive wildfires . 18 Apr 2022 . CTVNews.
  7. Web site: Largest Brush and Forest Fires in Recorded History. 15 March 2018.
  8. Murphy, Peter J., Cordy Tymstra, and Merle Massie. 2015. "The Great Fire of 1919: People and a Shared Firestorm in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada." Forest History Today 2015 (Spring/Fall): 22–30.
  9. Web site: CBC News . 12 Dec 2014 . www.upi.com.
  10. Web site: Campbell . Gord . The Mississagi Fire, 1948, A Historical Account . 18 Apr 2022 . images.ourontario.ca.
  11. Web site: Daily Colonist . 1 . 16 Jan 1971 . archive.org.
  12. Web site: UPI News . 20 May 1981 . www.upi.com.
  13. Web site: Manitoba Conservation & Climate . Manitoba Wildfires : 1914 – 2020 . 18 Apr 2022 . Province of Manitoba.
  14. Hirsch. Kelvin G.. 1 Apr 1991. A chronological overview of the 1989 fire season in Manitoba. The Forestry Chronicle. 67. 4. 358–365. 10.5558/tfc67358-4. 0015-7546. free.
  15. Web site: The McLure Fire. The University of Lethbridge. 16 Jul 2016. 27 September 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160927154836/http://barriere.ca/files/%7B0702F1AF-A15B-4935-8200-08F45F7CF7CD%7DMcLure%20Lessons%20Learned.pdf. dead.
  16. Web site: Fire Review Summary for Okanagan Mountain Fire (K50628). BC Wildfire. Government of British Columbia. 8 May 2016.
  17. Web site: Review of the 2009 Fire Season. BC Wildfire. Ministry of Forests and Range. 8 May 2016.
  18. News: Slave Lake fires 2nd costliest insured disaster . CTV News . 5 Jul 2011 . 5 Jul 2011.
  19. News: Slave Lake fire: How it happened. 8 May 2016 . Edmonton Journal. Postmedia Network Inc.. 15 May 2011.
  20. Canadian Natural Resources Limited Provides a Further Update on the Impact of Alberta Forest Fires. Marketwire. 31 May 2011. 2 June 2015.
  21. Web site: 'Timmins 9' forest fire still haunts residents. Wayne. Snyder. 19 Jul 2022. 27 May 2023. TimminsToday.com.
  22. Web site: Gazette . 21 Jan 2015 . montrealgazette.com.
  23. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/2014-n-w-t-fire-season-report-what-you-need-to-know-1.3061930 2014 N.W.T. fire season report: What you need to know
  24. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/worst-forest-fires-in-30-years-cost-n-w-t-55m-1.2770136 Worst forest fires in 30 years cost N.W.T. $55M
  25. News: 2 die in fiery crash on Highway 881 south of Fort McMurray. 8 May 2016. CBC News Edmonton. CBC/Radio-Canada.
  26. News: Weber. Bob. Costs of Alberta wildfire reach $9.5 billion: Study. 18 Jan 2017. BNN Canada. 17 Jan 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170119053622/http://www.bnn.ca/costs-of-alberta-wildfire-reach-9-5-billion-study-1.652292. 19 Jan 2017.
  27. Web site: Fort McMurray 2016 Wildfire - Economic Impact. Statistics Canada. 20 Jul 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20180720195209/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/11-627-m/11-627-m2017007-eng.pdf. 20 Jul 2018.
  28. News: Romero. Diego. Fort McMurray wildfires damage cost $3.85 billion. 7 Jul 2016. CTV. Edmonton. 7 Jul 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160708131421/http://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/fort-mcmurray-wildfires-damage-cost-3-58-billion-1.2977275. 8 Jul 2016.
  29. News: Parsons. Paige. Thousands flee from Fort McMurray wildfire in the largest fire evacuation in Alberta's history. 3 May 2016. Edmonton Journal. Postmedia Network. 3 May 2016.
  30. Web site: Wildfire Season Summary - Province of British Columbia.
  31. News: B.C. wildfire status Wednesday: Arson suspected in 2 wildfires. Global News. 3 Aug 2017.
  32. News: B.C. wildfires set record for total land burned over. 16 Aug 2017. Vancouver Sun. 20 Aug 2017.
  33. News: Wildfires take tragic toll with death of firefighter, loss of homes in rural Alberta. 19 Oct 2017. Calgary Herald. 19 Oct 2017.
  34. News: Alberta wildfires 2017: Current status of wildfires around the province. Global News. 19 Oct 2017.
  35. Web site: British Columbia wildfire season now second worst in province's history. 26 Aug 2018.
  36. Web site: Current Statistics.
  37. News: Derworiz . Colette . 10,000 people forced out, 16 homes destroyed by Alberta wildfires . 12 Jun 2019 . The Canadian Press . Global News . 31 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190612203317/https://globalnews.ca/news/5338091/alberta-wildfires-may-31/ . 12 Jun 2019.
  38. Web site: Alberta Wildfire and Prescribed Burn Sitrep . Alberta Wildfire . Government of Alberta . 18 Oct 2019 . 20 Jun 2019 . 18 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190618083634/https://wildfire.alberta.ca/reports/sitrep.html . dead .