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Canada Mobilizes Military Airlifts as Wildfires Rage With Australian Firefighters En Route

Emergency flights are removing families from Sandy Lake First Nation as crews prepare for intensifying flames across drought-stricken regions.

A handout satellite picture of wildfires in York Factory First Nation in Canada's Manitoba province from May 30
An aerial view of a wildfire burning near Sproat Lake on Vancouver Island on June 9, 2025.
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As smoke from wildfires in northern Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Northwestern Ontario blankets Lake Superior’s Nipigon Bay on June 3.

Overview

  • More than 225 large wildfires are active across Canada, with drought and hot weather driving at least 100 blazes out of control.
  • The Canadian Armed Forces have airlifted nearly 3,000 people from Sandy Lake First Nation after fires advanced to within two kilometres of the community.
  • Manitoba and Saskatchewan remain under states of emergency with over 30,000 residents displaced, though recent rain may allow Saskatchewan to lift some evacuation orders.
  • BC Wildfire Service warns that incoming dry cold fronts could fuel “extreme fire behaviour” in the northeastern region, prompting highway closures.
  • Australia has deployed 96 firefighters and the Yukon government is sending 20 specialists to support provincial and federal firefighting operations.