After aslow startto Canada’s 2026 fire season, activity picked up by the end of June amid dry, warm conditions and returned closer to the 25-year average.
By mid-July, almost 850 fires were actively burning across the country, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
More than 180 of those were burning in Ontario.
ThisNOAA-21image, acquired on the afternoon of July 14, 2026, shows smoke billowing from the Ontario fires.
Winds carried the smoke primarily southeast over much of the southern part of the province, as well as parts of Quebec and the U.S. Midwest and Northeast, tinting the sky shades of gray and yellow and the Sun orange in many areas.
The smoke’s impact on air quality varied, depending largely on altitude.
In areas where smoke was high in the atmosphere, air quality impacts were negligible; where it drifted closer to the ground, conditions worsened.
Air quality in Toronto, for instance, reachedunhealthy levels, according toAirNow.
People in the southern parts of the province were also grappling with a heat wave, compounding the health risks.
Much of the smoke came from fires in Northwestern Ontario, whereeight blazessaw significant growth on July 13 and 14.
The fires prompted officials to issue evacuation orders for several communities in this part of the province, according tonews reports.
As of July 14, fires across Canada have burned 1.9 million hectares since the start of the year—still well below the season totals from the extreme fire years of2023 and 2025.
How the rest of the season plays out remains to be seen.
Aseasonal fire outlook—compiled by wildland fire experts from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico—shows where fire conditions are more or less likely through July, August, and September.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE , GIBS/Worldview , and the Joint Polar Satellite System. Story by Kathryn Hansen.
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AirNowWildfires. Accessed July 15, 2026.
CBCHeat, wildfire smoke combine to create dangerous conditions across southwestern Ontario. Accessed July 15, 2026.
Ministry of Natural Resources, OntarioForest fires. Accessed July 15, 2026.
National Interagency Fire Center, Natural Resources Canada, and Servicio MeteorolĂłgico NacionalNorth American Seasonal Fire Assessment and Outlook. Accessed July 15, 2026.
The New York TimesToronto Under an Orange Sky as Wildfire Smoke Pours Into the U.S. Northeast. Accessed July 15, 2026.
ReutersCanadian wildfire smoke chokes Toronto, threatens US cities. Accessed July 15, 2026.
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