- đź“Ś Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources reports 180 active wildfires in the north, with seven new fires ignited yesterday.
- đź“Ś Aerial photos reveal devastation in Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, where residents fled without provincial assistance.
- đź“Ś First Nations leaders call for a public inquiry and government resignation, claiming the Ontario government failed to provide timely evacuation support.
- đź“Ś Premier Doug Ford defends his government's response, while police threaten fines and demerit points for violators of closure orders.
Wildfire Crisis Intensifies in Northern Ontario
Officials with Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources confirmed that 180 wildfires continue to burn across northern Ontario, with seven new blazes sparked just yesterday. Of those, 51 are out of control, seven are being held, 12 are under control and 112 are being observed. The ongoing crisis has left communities devastated and sparked fierce criticism from First Nations leaders.
Devastation in Namaygoosisagagun First Nation
Aerial photographs released this week show the scale of destruction in Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, also known as Collins First Nation. The community is a small, remote Ojibwa community located in northwestern Ontario, about 250 km north of Thunder Bay. The images reveal scorched earth and debris where buildings once stood, after a wildfire tore through the region last week. Residents fled without help from the province, according to reports. Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige said last week that more than 30 homes, a school and community centres were reduced to ashes as Namaygoosisagagun was swallowed by fire. Dramatic photos and videos of their evacuation showed people escaping on boats as a huge wall of smoke and flames rose behind them.
First Nations Leaders Demand Accountability
First Nations leaders have accused the Ontario government of abandoning communities, leaving them to fend for themselves without timely support for evacuations. They are now calling for a public inquiry into the provincial response to the wildfires that continue to devastate vast swaths of forest. Additionally, leaders are calling for the resignation of government officials over the failed response. The province has acknowledged that some blazes spread so quickly they were only detected when dangerously close to First Nations.
The New Democratic Party (NDP) has also repeated its call for a public inquiry into the province's wildfire preparedness and response, echoing the demands made by First Nations leaders.
At a news conference in Thunder Bay on Tuesday, a coalition of northern Ontario First Nations chiefs demanded a public inquiry, countering what they described as a false narrative from Premier Doug Ford’s government about the effectiveness of its emergency response. Chief Wilfred King of Gull Bay First Nation said, “When these wildfires started in our territory, all that was talked about on the news was the smoke conditions in the City of Toronto. There was not one word mentioned on the national media about the situation of people literally running for their lives in these fires.” King criticized a July 20 press release from the premier that praised his government’s efforts without mentioning First Nations: “He praised himself and his government about what a wonderful job they were doing in fighting these fires. He’s creating the narrative so that he can basically lie to the Canadians and lie to the people of Ontario.”
Chief Lawrence Wanakamik of Whitesand First Nation detailed a timeline of confusion on July 13, when a fire threatened his community. At about 2:30 p.m., the band manager received information about a large fire near Mathias Lake. The Ministry of Natural Resources advised a helicopter would investigate and subsequently reported there was no fire – despite heavy smoke. By 4 p.m., Whitesand leadership was arranging transportation and contacting hotels in Thunder Bay. At 4:30 p.m., some community members began self-evacuating. A council member attended the Armstrong base and was told the community was safe. “Whitesand requested the assurances in writing,” Wanakamik said, but noted it was never received. At 6:30 p.m., with no official evacuation order issued, Whitesand Elders warned members to prepare for possible evacuation. At 7 p.m., the ministry advised no evacuation order was in place and suggested only vulnerable community members be relocated. An official mandatory evacuation order was not issued until approximately 9:30 p.m., Wanakamik said. By then, Whitesand had already mobilized leadership, staff and volunteers. “It took too long to recognize the danger, too long to issue a clear direction and too long to order the evacuation,” Wanakamik said. “Whitesand’s own preparation and decision-making helped prevent an already dangerous situation from becoming worse.”
Chief Helen Paavola, whose community, Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, also called Collins, was destroyed by fire, said members barely escaped with the clothes on their backs. “My community was devastated by a forest fire that overtook the homes with great speed and heat,” Paavola said. “My members barely escaped with the clothes on their backs.” She said her community was left to evacuate without notice and support on July 13. “The suggestion that the fire was started in the community is completely and utterly false,” she said.
The chiefs are also seeking the immediate removal of Chris Cuthbertson, the current director of aviation, forest fire and emergency services for the MNR, and the assistant deputy minister responsible.
The chiefs say some residents were forced to organize their own evacuations and received little warning or assistance as wildfires approached their communities. They also accuse the Ministry of Natural Resources of ignoring recommendations to improve wildfire preparedness and emergency response, despite years of warnings from Indigenous leaders.
Chief Helen Paavola has said her community had to decide for themselves to get out, using boats to get across the lake from their community, which has been entirely wiped out.
At a news conference in Thunder Bay on Tuesday, Gull Bay First Nation Chief Wilfred King said a thorough independent investigation is needed into the systemic issues that have affected the emergency response by the province. Other Indigenous leaders have said over the past week they received little or no communication about whether and when to evacuate. Whitewater First Nation Chief Pauline Drake said her community was not told about the potential severity of the wildfires and the risk to their homes in the days before the fires. “It’s just last minute. We’re the last people to be told and notified,” she said. Chief King, whose community remains under an evacuation order, said he has not been contacted by Premier Doug Ford nor any minister since his community was engulfed last week. “Nobody has reached out to us, and they’re the ones that are responsible,” he said.
During an update Monday, Mr. Ford and his ministers said they had been in touch with several First Nations leaders over the last week. Mr. Ford’s office did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Many of the current wildfires across Northwestern Ontario are believed to have been triggered by a lightning storm under extreme fire weather conditions. While it’s not possible to predict exactly where a wildfire will strike, a measure of risk called the Fire Weather Index had been rising across the region for days. The Fire Weather Index had been at the highest possible level on July 13 and 14 when the fires exploded. The Globe and Mail asked the Ontario Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services whether it has any policies in place to warn remote communities of rising fire risk before a fire ignites, but the agency has yet to respond. This wildfire season may be the biggest on record in Ontario, with current estimates suggesting more than 7,250 square kilometres of forest burned, mostly in the last 10 days. Across Canada there are 889 fires burning, with the majority in the Northwest Territories, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. Wildfires have burned roughly three million hectares across the country, putting 2026 on track to be the third-largest wildfire season in Canadian history.
An evacuation order is currently in place for communities around 200 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, with evacuees sent to nine municipalities across the province. Cots have been laid out at Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay, which has been turned into a provincial reception centre for wildfire evacuees.
Community-Led Evacuations: Mishkeegogamang and Lac Seul First Nation
While criticism of the provincial response dominates, some First Nations have turned to each other for support. Mishkeegogamang First Nation Chief Merle Loon prioritized keeping elders close to home when wildfires threatened his community. He arranged a direct nation-to-nation agreement with Lac Seul First Nation, an unprecedented move that allowed elders to evacuate to the Onaman Ziibi lodge in Sioux Lookout and to nearby Lac Seul. The agreement began with a late-night call from Chief Loon to Lac Seul Chief Clifford Bull last Tuesday. Hours later, Lac Seul councillor DeShawn Littledeer led a convoy of vans and SUVs to pick up evacuees at a highway junction. Elder Evelyn Kwandibens and Alice Wavey, among some 41 elders and caregivers from Mishkeegogamang, found comfort in familiar surroundings and pastimes like puzzles at the lodge. Dr. Marilyn Koval, the family physician for many Mishkeegogamang patients, noted the benefits of staying close to the land. Lac Seul community members donated moose meat and set fish nets to provide culturally appropriate food. The arrangement also ensures elders receive their medications and keep medical appointments. Chief Bull said plans are being discussed to build a 50-bed evacuation centre in Lac Seul, recognizing that climate change will likely bring more fires. “Because we all know that climate change is happening, and it’s going to get worse every year. ... It could be us next year. Who knows?” he said.
Safety Concerns for Evacuees in Toronto Hotels
As wildfires rage in northern Ontario, First Nations evacuees sheltering in Toronto are facing a different set of dangers: elevated safety risks linked to drugs, alcohol and human trafficking. Cat Lake First Nation Chief Russell Wesley said his community of more than 450 people was evacuated to a Toronto hotel last week, but he wants them to return home as soon as possible. The community was not given autonomy to choose the evacuation destination; Wesley said he would have preferred to keep residents closer to home where they could maintain cultural practices such as fishing and hunting. “The social cost of First Nations not having the power to manage their own evacuations has been laid bare,” he said.
Derek Spence, operations manager for Cat Lake First Nation, said the hotel has a bag check station screening for alcohol to limit drinking among evacuees. Alcohol and drugs are much easier to come by in Toronto than in the remote fly-in community, Spence explained. Substance use and fears of suspicious people hanging around the hotel have been fuelling residents’ desire to return home. “It is a scary city for some people, and there were people hanging around here trying to abduct some of the ladies,” Spence said. “Someone’s gonna get lost, someone’s going to get hurt, someone’s going to get killed.”
Cat Lake social worker Chantal Wesley said she’s had sleepless nights worrying if all residents made it back to their rooms safely, and security guards have already had run-ins with “predators.” “There are real threats in the (Greater Toronto Area). I know that we are more vulnerable, especially our young women and our girls,” she said. She noted that some community members drink as a way of coping with the intergenerational impacts of the residential school system—issues that were present in the community but exacerbated by the evacuation. “Our people are struggling and it’s not their fault, but also how do we support them? How do we make sure that they’re safe?”
Similar concerns were echoed by Chief Gary Quisess of Neskantaga First Nation, whose community was also evacuated to a Toronto hotel after wildfire smoke filled their homes and interrupted food and water deliveries. Quisess reported a security incident involving a young mother approached by a person in a vehicle, raising fears of potential human trafficking. Joey Morningstar, a manager with Indigenous-led emergency management company ISN Maskwa, which is providing wraparound services to Neskantaga, said safety issues related to alcohol and human trafficking are all too common after evacuations. “They don’t have to be looking for it. It will find them in a lot of the cities, they will prey on the vulnerable,” Morningstar said. ISN Maskwa has stationed security guards outside the hotel and keeps descriptions of community members in case they go missing. According to Statistics Canada, Indigenous people make up only five per cent of Canada’s population but accounted for 13 per cent of all missing adults in 2025. Indigenous women are particularly at risk, representing 58 per cent of missing Indigenous adults.
Ontario Government’s Response
Premier Doug Ford stated earlier this week that his government did everything it could to respond to the wildfires. He has ordered evacuees not to return to their homes. The Ontario Provincial Police announced on Wednesday that anyone found in areas under closure orders could face fines of hundreds of dollars and three demerit points on their driver’s license for failing to obey road signs. In a related development, Premier Ford hit back at former U.S. president Donald Trump over comments about wildfire smoke, suggesting that removing lumber tariffs 'might make a difference'.
Wildfire Situation in British Columbia
Officials in B.C. warned residents Tuesday to expect more wildfires as lightning is forecast in parts of the province later this week, and rising temperatures have triggered heat warnings in many areas. B.C. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar said so far, the season has been manageable: Of the 182 new fires in the past week, 80 per cent have been declared out, contained or held at fewer than 10 hectares. There are just over 760 front-line firefighters deployed across the province, Mr. Parmar said, with another 700 still in reserve.
There are roughly 600 properties under evacuation orders in B.C., the majority of them from the Fraser Canyon communities, and another 5,700 properties under evacuation alerts, including roughly 8,000 people in the East Kootenay town of Kimberley, B.C. Hugh Murdoch, the incident commander in charge of the Bootleg complex fires near Kimberley, said firefighters are making good progress and that recent weather has been favourable, giving firefighters the upper hand for the moment. “That said, we are aware that the weather will not always be so co-operative,” Mr. Murdoch said. “We’re looking at Thursday as a significant weather day, which is why we’re bringing in more resources to continue the good fight,” he said.
Local California Context
While this crisis unfolds in Ontario, Canada, California communities—particularly in San Bernardino County and Ontario, California—can draw parallels to their own wildfire challenges. The Golden State has faced similar devastation and criticism over emergency responses, highlighting the universal need for effective wildfire management and community support.
Background
Wildfires have become increasingly frequent and severe in northern Ontario, exacerbated by climate change and dry conditions. Past fires have strained provincial resources and tested emergency protocols, leading to ongoing debates about funding and preparedness.
Conclusion
The situation in northern Ontario remains critical, with First Nations communities bearing the brunt of the crisis. As calls for a public inquiry and government resignation grow, the provincial government faces mounting pressure to improve its wildfire response and ensure the safety of all residents.