Province says it is ready for the 2026 wildland fire season

The government of Ontario says it is ready to protect people and communities this wildland fire season, which lasts from April 1 until October 31.

To prepare for the 2026 fire season, the province stated today that it has added an additional 68 permanent staff and increased compensation for critical staff, including wildland firefighters, pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers.

Huntsville Fire Chief Gary Monahan welcomed the news. “We’ve never run into an issue where we’ve requested the resources to assist and haven’t gotten them.” He said more funding is good for the entire province as well as this area.

In a media release issued today, the province said in addition to the new staffing measures, Ontario and Canada are investing in projects through the Wildfire Resilient Futures Initiative that will help enhance local training, education and outreach programs. These measures will ensure communities across the province are equipped with the tools and resources to prevent and mitigate wildland fire risks, while advancing science and research projects to reduce wildland fire risk.

“We are ready to protect communities from wildland fires, with all the necessary resources in place,” said Mike Harris, Minister of Natural Resources for Ontario. “Our government stands behind the wildland firefighters, pilots and support staff that make up our frontline response and we will ensure they have everything they need for the upcoming fire season.”

The news release notes that other investments and actions the province has taken to strengthen Ontario’s wildland fire program include:

• Over $500 million to purchase six new Canadian-made De Havilland DHC-515 waterbombers.
• New and amended regulations under the Wildland Fire Management Act taking effect April 1, 2026 to modernize wildland fire management, strengthen compliance measures and protect against the growing threat of wildland fires.
• 100 permanent staff positions filled throughout 2024 and 2025.
• $64 million invested in 2024 in partnership with the federal government to purchase upgraded equipment and modern wildland fire suppression tools, as well as continued training.

Approximately 50 per cent of all wildland fires are caused by humans. There are actions the public can take to reduce the risks of forest fires:

• Before starting an outdoor fire, check the interactive map at ontario.ca/ForestFires and ensure you are aware of the fire hazard and restrictions in place in your area.
• Ensure campfires do not get too big and are fully extinguished at the end of the evening or prior to leaving the site. Have tools and water on hand to control outdoor fires.
• To learn more about how to prepare your community or property to reduce the risk or impact of a wildland fire, please visit how to prevent forest fires and ontario.ca/FireSmart.

“Ontario is an international leader in wildland fire management and proudly participates in agreements with provincial, territorial, federal and international partners that allow for the sharing of personnel, equipment and aircraft during periods of escalated wildland fire activity,” states the release.

Quick Facts

• Since 2018, Ontario has increased the annual base funding allocation for emergency firefighting by 93 per cent, for a total of more than $65 million. This funding is used to get resources in place so that crews and aircraft are available to respond immediately. Total actual spending for fire season is reported annually in Public Accounts.
• Wildland firefighter positions have been reclassified to better reflect the work these essential frontline responders do to protect Ontario within the classification structure.
• Ontario has a fleet of 28 specialized aircraft used to fight wildland fires and support other natural resource and emergency responses. The province employs hundreds of highly trained staff across 14 fire management headquarters, three attack bases, 11 forward attack bases, two regional fire centres, one provincial fire centre, one emergency operations centre, three logistics centres, seven aircraft hangars and one flight training centre. Together, these resources support the coordinated protection of 90 million hectares of public land in Ontario.
• The Wildfire Resilient Futures Initiative launched by the Government of Canada focuses on preventing and mitigating wildland fire risks through capacity building, research and knowledge development.
• In 2025, Ontario saw 643 wildland fires and 597,654 hectares burned – equivalent to an area larger than the size of Prince Edward Island. Over the past ten years, Ontario has averaged approximately 712 fires per year, with 210, 232.6 hectares burned annually.

Don’t miss out on Doppler!

Sign up here to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories.
Local news in your inbox so you don’t miss anything!

Click here to support local news