Wildfire Season in Canada and Climate Change

Wildfire season in Canada runs every year from May through October. Find out why climate change is making this year’s forest fires the most intense and destructive ever recorded.

My career as a travelling consultant gave me the chance to live and work in a wide range of places. One trip took me to a picturesque, lakeside city in Northwestern Ontario called Kenora.

In those days, the Kenora airport was a small, somewhat informal place. It was a hot summer day, and passengers were encouraged to wait for their planes outside on the apron, using their carry-on luggage for seats.

As we waited, a group of fit but fatigued young men joined us on the tarmac. They all wore the same soot-covered orange jackets and lugged a huge, green canvas canoe pack holding their belongings.

Fire Season Arises Every Year from May through October

It was fire season, and they were a team of Ontario FireRangers. Every year, from May through October, they take on the gruelling job of protecting forests, people and communities from wildfire.