List of fires in Canada

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

ArticleLocationProvinceDateDeathsDamageBuildingsArea in ha/aComments
1825 Miramichi fireNorthern New Brunswick New BrunswickOct 1825160 to 3001,000,000 to 2,000,000 hectares (2,500,000 to 4,900,000 acres)A series of wildfires.[1]
Fire in Quebec CityQuebec City Province of Canada (Quebec)May 184520$1 million100+[2]
Fire in Quebec CityQuebec City Province of Canada (Quebec)Jun 184540$1.5 million1,200[2]
Great Fire of 1846St. John's NewfoundlandJun 18463£888,356600 hectares (1,500 acres)
Fire in TorontoToronto Province of Canada (Upper Canada)Apr 1849$500,000[2]
Fire in MontrealMontreal Province of Canada (Quebec)Jun 18500$500,000100[2]
Great Fire of 1852Montreal Province of Canada (Quebec)Jul
1852
0$5 million1,200[2]Nearly half of city's housing destroyed.
Great Fire of Quebec City Quebec City Province of Canada (Quebec)Oct 1866$3 million2,500[2]
Saguenay FireSaguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec QuebecMay 1870715,000 hectares (37,000 acres)Nearly 1/3 of the population lost everything.
Fire in Quebec CityQuebec City QuebecMay 1876$800,000700[2]
Fire in Saint-JeanSaint-Jean-sur-Richelieu QuebecJun 1876$2.5 million[2]
Fire in Saint-HyacintheSaint-Hyacinthe QuebecSep 1876$1.25 million583[2]
Great Fire of Saint JohnSaint John New BrunswickJun 187719$28 million1,612[3]
Fire in HamiltonHamilton OntarioAug 1879$500,000[2]
Fire in Quebec CityQuebec City QuebecJun 1881$2 million800[2]
Fire in TorontoToronto OntarioJan 1885$700,000[2]
Great Vancouver FireVancouver British ColumbiaJun 188624 to 28[4]$1.3 million
Calgary Fire of 1886Calgary North-West Territories (now Alberta)Nov 18860$103,200
Great Fire of 1892St. John's NewfoundlandJul
1892
$13 million
Simpson's fire in TorontoToronto OntarioJan 1895$600,000[2]
Fire in WindsorWindsor  Nova ScotiaOct 1897$4 millionMost the town destroyed.[2]
Fire in New WestminsterNew Westminster  British ColumbiaSep 1898$2 million[2]
Warehouse fire in MontrealMontreal QuebecDec 1898$8 million[2]
Warehouse fire in MontrealMontreal QuebecJan 1900$2.5 million[2]
1900 Hull–Ottawa fireHull QuebecApr 19007$7.5 millionDestroyed 2/3 of Hull.[2]
Fire in SydneySydney  Nova ScotiaOct 1901$500,00060+[2]
Fire in OttawaOttawa OntarioMay 1903$500,000300+[2]
Fire in Saint-HyacintheSaint-Hyacinthe QuebecMay 1903$500,000400+[2]
Great Toronto FireToronto OntarioApr 1904$13 million[2]
Fire in Trois-RivièresTrois-Rivières QuebecJun 1908$2 million[2]
Fire in FernieFernie British ColumbiaAug 1908$4 millionMost the town destroyed.[2]
Great Porcupine FireTimmins OntarioJul
1911
73 to 200199,915 hectares (494,000 acres)
Matheson FireBlack River-Matheson OntarioJul
1916
223[5] to 244[6]49 townships[6]200,000 hectares (490,000 acres)The worst fire on record in Ontario's history. Destroyed 49 townships, including the villages of Kelso, Val Gagné, and Iroquois Falls.[6]
Great Fire of 1919Saskatchewan and eastern Alberta Alberta
Saskatchewan
May 191911[7]2,000,000 hectares (4,900,000 acres)The first major fire at the wildland-urban interface of the Prairie Provinces.[8]
Great Fire of 1922Timiskaming District OntarioOct 192243$2 million168,000 hectares (420,000 acres)
Knights of Columbus Hostel fireSt. John's NewfoundlandDec 194299[9]
Mississagi Fire of 1948Mississagi River OntarioMay–
Jul 1948
1[10]280,000 hectares (690,000 acres) The fire destroyed land over a two-month period between Chapleau and Thessalon.[6]
Chinchaga fireNorthern British Columbia and Alberta Alberta
British Columbia
Jun–
Oct 1950
01,400,000 to 1,700,000 hectares (3,500,000 to 4,200,000 acres)Largest recorded single fire in North American history.
Notre-Dame-du-Lac seniors' home fireNotre-Dame-du-Lac QuebecDec 196940[11]
Opémiska Community Hall fireChapais QuebecJan 198048[12]
Manitoba wildfiresManitoba  ManitobaMay, Jul–
Aug 1989
100 homes2,500,000 hectares (6,200,000 acres)Drought conditions in Manitoba caused over 1,200 fires to spring up throughout the province.[6][13][14]
Hagersville Tire FireHagersville, Ontario  OntarioFeb 199000Unknown7.3 hectares (18 acres)Significant ecological damage caused by the melting of 12-14 million tires over 17 days.
2001 Chisholm WildfireChisholm  AlbertaMay 200160+116,000 hectares (290,000 acres)[6]
McLure fireNorth Thompson River  British ColumbiaJul–
Aug 2003
0$31.9 million[15]8126,420 hectares (65,300 acres)3,800 people evacuated[15]
Okanagan Mountain Park FireCentral Okanagan  British ColumbiaAug 20030$33.8 Million[16]23925,912 hectares (64,030 acres)
West Kelowna wildfiresWest Kelowna  British ColumbiaJul
2009
0$403 million[17]49,877 hectares (24,410 acres)Three separate wildfires.
May 2010 Quebec wildfiresLa Tuque  QuebecMay 2010090,000 hectares (220,000 acres)
2011 Slave Lake WildfireSlave Lake  AlbertaMay 20111 (helicopter crash)$750 million[18]4334,700 hectares (12,000 acres)One-third of town destroyed.[19]
Richardson FireRichardson Backcountry  AlbertaMay–Sep 20110$350 to $450 million[20]700,000 hectares (1,700,000 acres)largest fire in Alberta since the 1950 Chinchaga fire.
Timmins Fire 9 Timmins  OntarioMay–Nov 2012039,540 hectares (97,700 acres)[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-Verte nursing home fireL'Isle-Verte QuebecDec 201432[22]
2014 Northwest Territories firesNorthwest Territories  Northwest Territoriessummer 20140$56.1 million[23]3,400,000 ha (8,400,000 acres)[23]Said to have been the largest wildfires in 30 years in the Northwest Territories[24] Note: Damage is the cost of fire fighting.
2016 Fort McMurray wildfireNorthern Alberta (incl. Fort McMurray) and Saskatchewan  Alberta
 Saskatchewan
May–
Jul 2016
2
(indirect)[25]
$9.9 billion (direct and indirect costs)[26][27][28]3,244589,552 hectares (1,456,810 acres)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.
2017 British Columbia wildfiresCentral and South Interior, and Alberta  Alberta
 British Columbia
Jul–
Sep 2017
0$586 million[30]305+[31]1,216,053 hectares (3,004,930 acres)[32]Estimated 65,000 [30] evacuated. Largest single wildfire in BC Wildfire history.
2017 Alberta fires Alberta, Saskatchewan  Alberta
 Saskatchewan
summer 20171[33]14+[33]Fires possibly caused by power lines downed in a storm.[34]
North Bay 69Temagami  OntarioJul–
Aug 2018
0221 hectares (550 acres)
2018 Parry Sound forest fireParry Sound District  OntarioJul–
Oct 2018
011,362.5 hectares (28,077 acres)
2018 British Columbia wildfiresBritish Columbia  British Columbiasummer 201850+ [35]1,298,454 hectares (3,208,550 acres)Initial estimates put 2018 as the largest total burn-area in any British Columbia wildfire season, surpassing the 2017 wildfire season.[36]
2019 Alberta wildfiresNorthwestern and Central Alberta  AlbertaMar–Dec 201916[37]883,414 hectares (2,182,960 acres)[38]Both lightning and human activity have been contributed to the cause, as well several are under investigation.[38] (*as of 18 Oct, 2019)
Lytton wildfireLytton  British ColumbiaJun 20212$78 millionFire started after a record breaking heatwave.
2023 Nova Scotia wildfiresNova Scotia  Nova Scotiasummer 20230250+24,128 hectares (59,620 acres)18,000 evacuated.
2023 Alberta wildfiresAlberta  Alberta20231,220,000 hectares (3,000,000 acres)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 wildfires Alberta and British Columbia  Alberta
 British Columbia
2024 Thousands evacuated.

See also

References

  1. "Great Miramichi Fire: The largest fire ever in eastern North America". GNB. Archived from the original on 13 Oct 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  2. "Omineca Herald". library.ubc.ca. 19 Dec 1908. p. 3.
  3. "The Great Fire of Saint John, New Brunswick, 1877". Retrieved 17 Dec 2008.
  4. "Great Vancouver Fire Stories" (PDF). MOV. Museum of Vancouver. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  5. "The Great Fire of 1916" (PDF). Ontario Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 May 2005.
  6. "List: Canada's most destructive wildfires". CTVNews. 16 May 2011. Retrieved 18 Apr 2022.
  7. "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. "CBC News". www.upi.com. 12 Dec 2014.
  10. Campbell, Gord. "The Mississagi Fire, 1948, A Historical Account". images.ourontario.ca. Retrieved 18 Apr 2022.
  11. "Daily Colonist". archive.org. 16 Jan 1971. p. 1.
  12. "UPI News". www.upi.com. 20 May 1981.
  13. Manitoba Conservation & Climate. "Manitoba Wildfires : 1914 – 2020". Province of Manitoba. Retrieved 18 Apr 2022.
  14. Hirsch, Kelvin G. (1 Apr 1991). "A chronological overview of the 1989 fire season in Manitoba". The Forestry Chronicle. 67 (4): 358–365. doi:10.5558/tfc67358-4. ISSN 0015-7546.
  15. "The McLure Fire" (PDF). The University of Lethbridge. Retrieved 16 Jul 2016.
  16. "Fire Review Summary for Okanagan Mountain Fire (K50628)" (PDF). BC Wildfire. Government of British Columbia. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  17. "Review of the 2009 Fire Season" (PDF). BC Wildfire. Ministry of Forests and Range. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  18. "Slave Lake fires 2nd costliest insured disaster". CTV News. 5 Jul 2011. Retrieved 5 Jul 2011.
  19. "Slave Lake fire: How it happened". Postmedia Network Inc. Edmonton Journal. 15 May 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  20. "Canadian Natural Resources Limited Provides a Further Update on the Impact of Alberta Forest Fires" (Press release). Marketwire. 31 May 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  21. Snyder, Wayne (19 Jul 2022). "'Timmins 9' forest fire still haunts residents". TimminsToday.com. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  22. "Gazette". montrealgazette.com. 21 Jan 2015.
  23. 2014 N.W.T. fire season report: What you need to know
  24. Worst forest fires in 30 years cost N.W.T. $55M
  25. "2 die in fiery crash on Highway 881 south of Fort McMurray". CBC/Radio-Canada. CBC News Edmonton. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  26. Weber, Bob (17 Jan 2017). "Costs of Alberta wildfire reach $9.5 billion: Study". BNN Canada. Archived from the original on 19 Jan 2017. Retrieved 18 Jan 2017.
  27. "Fort McMurray 2016 Wildfire - Economic Impact" (PDF). Statistics Canada. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 Jul 2018. Retrieved 20 Jul 2016.
  28. Romero, Diego (7 Jul 2016). "Fort McMurray wildfires damage cost $3.85 billion". CTV. Edmonton. Archived from the original on 8 Jul 2016. Retrieved 7 Jul 2016.
  29. Parsons, Paige (3 May 2016). "Thousands flee from Fort McMurray wildfire in the largest fire evacuation in Alberta's history". Edmonton Journal. Postmedia Network. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  30. "Wildfire Season Summary - Province of British Columbia".
  31. "B.C. wildfire status Wednesday: Arson suspected in 2 wildfires". Global News. Retrieved 3 Aug 2017.
  32. "B.C. wildfires set record for total land burned over". Vancouver Sun. 16 Aug 2017. Retrieved 20 Aug 2017.
  33. "Wildfires take tragic toll with death of firefighter, loss of homes in rural Alberta". Calgary Herald. 19 Oct 2017. Retrieved 19 Oct 2017.
  34. "Alberta wildfires 2017: Current status of wildfires around the province". Global News. Retrieved 19 Oct 2017.
  35. "British Columbia wildfire season now second worst in province's history". 26 Aug 2018.
  36. "Current Statistics".
  37. Derworiz, Colette (31 May 2019). "10,000 people forced out, 16 homes destroyed by Alberta wildfires". Global News. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on 12 Jun 2019. Retrieved 12 Jun 2019.
  38. "Alberta Wildfire and Prescribed Burn Sitrep". Alberta Wildfire. Government of Alberta. 20 Jun 2019. Retrieved 18 Oct 2019.
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