Forest Fires FAQ

With wildfire season still under way, Canada has reached an unprecedented milestone with 10 million hectares of land burned by wildfires as of mid-July, according to Natural Resources Canada. That figure far surpasses the previous record of 7.6 million hectares burned in 1989 – and the current tally is sure to rise, as there are still hundreds of fires burning, particularly in Western Canada, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC).

The result of these fires has been an endless stream of front-page news, air-quality advisories posted in cities across North America, and questions about what causes wildfires and what we can do to ensure we don’t keep hitting record-breaking numbers for years to come.

We turn to Forests Canada’s Director of Restoration Programs Val Deziel to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about forest fires:

Q: What causes forest fires?

A: Wildfires are sometimes caused by people who leave campfires unattended, burn debris or dispose of lit cigarettes or matches carelessly, or set fires deliberately, while the remaining fires are started by lightning strikes. According to Natural Resources Canada, while just over half of wildfires are started by humans, 67 per cent of the land burned by wildfires is caused by lightning. This is because fires caused by lightning often occur in more remote areas and can be more difficult to suppress.

It's also important to make the distinction between wildfires, prescribed burns, and cultural burns.

Prescribed burns are deliberately set by forest managers to enhance the health of an ecosystem. Regular, managed prescribed burns can reduce the amount of ground fuels, which means that if a wildfire did occur, it could be less intense and easier to control.

Prescribed burns are also used to clear forest areas to prepare for planting, remove undesirable plants that compete with wanted species for resources, remove undergrowth and allow sunlight to reach the forest floor to encourage the growth of selected species, control insect pests and diseases, and create ashes that make nutrients more readily available to the ecosystem.

According to Dr. Amy Cardinal Christianson, an Indigenous fire research scientist with the Canadian Forest Service, cultural burns use fire on the landscape to achieve certain cultural objectives, such as sustaining diverse animal life and plants that serve as medicines or food. For example, certain berries tend to fruit prolifically following a fire. Cultural fires are typically low-intensity, small-scale burns that are community driven and practiced by Indigenous fire-keepers around the globe.

Q: Are all forest fires bad?

A: Many plants and animals are well adapted to and benefit from fire, and some even depend on fire. For example, jack pine cones are serotinous, which means that the seed release happens only in response to an environmental trigger, and will only open and distribute seeds under extreme heat. However, those benefits are outweighed by the sheer magnitude of fires we have seen this year.

Q.  How are the wildfires impacting wildlife? 

A: It is estimated that more than 80,000 identified wildlife species call Canadian forests their home. This number includes a variety of notable mammals, like moose, lynx, caribou, and the pygmy shrew, as well as those that soar above the canopies, like birds, and those that live and depend on the forest floor, like insects, amphibians, and reptiles. Forests also play a vital role in regulating water quality and providing fish populations and other aquatic animals with essential habitat elements and food sources. With wildfires becoming more frequent, more severe, and increasingly more difficult to manage, wildlife is also heavily impacted. Although there is no exact number of wildlife lost during these forest fires, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands have been directly affected, with many perishing.  

Due to these wildfires, Canadian wildlife are being displaced, their habitats are being destroyed, they are losing their sources of food and water, and those who can’t outrun the fire and smoke are unfortunately dying. Some species that depend on specific habitats or that are endangered are more vulnerable than others, and with the loss of wildlife comes the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem balance, which can directly negatively affect local communities. They may seem separate, but the loss of wildlife in forests has been proven to have significant and multifaceted impacts on people, including economic hardship, food insecurity, health concerns, disruption in cultural practices, and displacement, especially for Indigenous communities. 

Q: Why are the wildfires so much worse this year?

A: When the weather is dry and hot, it is easier for wildfires to start and harder to control their spread. Climate change is certainly a contributing factor. Just recently, it was announced that June 2023 was the hottest June on record, according to NASA’s global temperature analysis. Beyond the warming trend we have continued to see throughout the world, other factors include lack of forest management, increased fires caused by human behaviour, and issues relating to invasive species.

Q: What can we do to stop wildfires from continuing to happen at this rate in the future?

A: First and foremost, we can’t let misinformation or even the sense that we can’t make a difference stop us from seriously working on climate mitigation and resilience. As individuals, there are small things we can do to reduce our impact on the changing climate like changing how we travel, what we eat, how we power our homes, and how we commute. (You can see a simple list of such things at www.un.org/en/actnow/ten-actions.) Collectively, we can also join environmental organizations and community groups and vote for candidates on a municipal, provincial and national level who we feel shares our goals for a healthy planet.

There is also much to do when it comes to forest management, including promoting the active stewardship and proper management of forests, planting climate-appropriate species of trees, educating the public about preventing forest fires, and working with Indigenous partners to learn about the longstanding relationships they have with the land and use and management of fire.

You can also increase your own knowledge about fires, their behaviours, and their impact on ecosystems. Forests Canada has plenty of great resources such as Hot Stuff! in the Education and Awareness section of our website. The more we learn, the more action we can take.

Finally, restoration – the actual planting of new trees – is also critical. Through our extensive partnerships and our diverse planting programs, Forests Canada is working each day to increase forest cover, restore forests impacted by natural occurrences, and improve forest conditions across Canada.