As of Sunday, August 5, there were 127 fires burning in Ontario, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. One of the fires, dubbed Parry Sound 33, is more than 110 square kilometres in size and has prompted evacuations in some communities.
Forest fires like the ones currently burning in Ontario can have long-term impacts on the environment, experts say, noting that increasingly warmer and drier weather conditions are making such blazes more common.
“We are seeing the manifestation of climate change happening in real form right now,” said Blair Feltmate, Water Institute member and head of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo. “It is bad now and it is only going to get worse.”