Ontario’s Wildland Fire Season Officially Ends

November 01, 2024

Toronto — As the 2024 wildland fire season ends, Ontario saw more than 475 fires and nearly 90,000 hectares burned – compared to the 10-year average of 694 fires and 201,781 hectares burned. While the fire season was less active than in recent years, the province’s fire crews were kept busy helping other Canadian provinces.

“I’m proud and thankful for the work of Ontario’s FireRangers who bravely protect people and communities from wildland fire,” said Graydon Smith, Minister of Natural Resources. “Not only did our highly skilled FireRangers, pilots and staff behind the scenes provide crucial support here at home, they also helped our partners across Canada, sharing expertise when they were needed.”

Over the course of the season, Ontario protected people, property and natural resources from wildland fires, and was also able to deploy equipment, 14 aircraft and more than 780 fire management personnel to support our partners in Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador and the Northwest Territories in their firefighting efforts.

This season, the government continued to improve and modernize our equipment, personnel and air fleet. Ontario is partnering with the federal government to invest a total of $64 million to mitigate and prepare for future wildland fire challenges. The province is contracting more aircraft, creating new permanent positions and providing firefighters and investigators with the same access to benefits as municipal counterparts. These investments are being made to ensure Ontario remains an internationally recognized leader in wildland fire management and coordinates the protection of 90 million hectares of Crown land in Ontario.

Quick Facts

• From April through October, wildland firefighting staff provide critical emergency services to detect and supress wildland fires across Ontario.
• This year marks 100 years of the Ontario Provincial Air Service (OPAS). In its first year of operations in 1924, the OPAS found 597 wildland fires and logged 2,597 flying hours with their fleet of 13 Curtiss H2SL Flying Boats – the equivalent of flying around the world seven times.
• Ontario participates in agreements with its provincial, territorial, federal and international partners that allow for the sharing of personnel, equipment and aircraft between agencies during periods of escalated wildland fire activity.

Additional Resources

Ontario’s response to wildland fires

Learn more about the science behind fire

Learn how to become a fire ranger

Related Topics

Rural and North

Information about the province’s Far North and rural communities. Get connected to business improvement organizations and learn more about funding and programs that support rural, northern and Indigenous communities. Learn more

Media Contacts

Media Relations
Communications Services Branch
MediaDesk.MNRF@ontario.ca

Melissa Candelaria
Minister’s Office
647-448-7652
Melissa.Candelaria@ontario.ca

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