Murray Wood: Sunshine sketches of summers past
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TORONTO — The wildfire situation in northern Ontario is moving in a reassuring direction as more than 80 fires have been extinguished in the past two weeks, Natural Resources Minister Mike Harris said Thursday.
He said 159 wildfires are still raging, with 30 burning out of control.
Harris characterized this year’s wildfire season as unprecedented, but said the tide appears to be turning.
“We’ve had a fire season in the last two weeks like we’ve never seen before,” he said at a press conference. “Thankfully, things are calming down now. They’re getting back to normal, and we’re able to manage the situation a lot better.”
The wildfires have sent thousands of people from mostly First Nation communities fleeing from their homes and released clouds of smoke that drifted across southern Ontario and parts of the United States. Early estimates suggest the flames have ravaged more of the province’s forests this season than any previous year on record.
Harris said more than 150 Ontario fire crews are working to suppress the flames, aided by recent rainy cool weather and the arrival of crews from Prince Edward Island and more than 100 firefighters from Mexico earlier this week.
Emergency Preparedness Minister Jill Dunlop said 14 communities have evacuated due to the wildfires, though five have now returned home and another community is in the process of returning.
More than 2,000 people remain displaced from their communities, she said.
The province has faced calls for a public inquiry into its wildfire response from First Nations leaders who accused Ontario of failing to offer timely support to communities that self evacuated as fires closed in.
When asked what was stopping Ontario from launching such an inquiry, Harris said the province does a “deep dive” into its response after each fire season, but the government is currently focused on fire suppression.
Harris would not say if the province’s wildfire review would be made public.
“I’m not sure how the review will all work out,” Harris said. “I think there will be lots of recommendations that will come forward and at the time we’ll see what makes sense to talk about.”
Harris added the province is looking at things it can “not necessarily do better, but do differently” for the next wildfire season, including how to monitor wildfires and warn threatened communities as quickly as possible, as well as ways to proactively protect infrastructure in evacuated areas.
First Nations leaders and community members have criticized the province on both fronts, with some saying evacuation orders came too late or not at all, and others accusing Ontario of not doing enough to protect the homes they fled from.
Namaygoosisagagun First Nation – also known as Collins First Nation – fled a wildfire that razed the community without help from the government and Whitesand First Nation said some community members returned home, defying an evacuation order to lay sprinkler lines to protect their homes.
Harris has previously said the fire that swallowed Collins First Nation spread so fast it was only spotted once it was at the community’s doorstep.
At Thursday’s press conference, the minister reiterated his defence of the government’s wildfire response, saying the province is sparing no expense to protect Ontarians and there has so far been no loss of life due to the fires.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2026.
Kathryn Mannie, The Canadian Press
