# Canadian Wildfires (DD-730) > Canada's 2023 wildfire season was the largest since national records began, burning about 15 million hectares (the widely reported 18.5 million was a preliminary operational figure). That's more than double the previous record of 6.7 million hectares in 1989 and roughly 4% of Canada's forest area. Lightning started 59% of the roughly 6,700 fires but accounted for 93% of the area burned. More than 200 communities were evacuated, and smoke degraded air quality in cities more than 1,000 km away, including on the U.S. east coast. - Department: Nature (also Locations) - First published: 2026-07-25 - Last updated: 2026-07-25 - Permalink: https://detailenjoyer.com/case/canadian-wildfires/ - Author: Marcus Easterling (DetailEnjoyer), The Detail Department ## On the timeline - **1989**: Previous record season: 6.7 million hectares burned - **2023**: Record season: about 15 million hectares burned Full timeline: https://detailenjoyer.com/timeline/?case=canadian-wildfires ## Quick facts - **DD-730-F01**: Canada's 2023 fire season burned about 15 million hectares, more than double the 1989 record. _(Write-up · Exhibit A (A record season))_ - **DD-730-F02**: Lightning-caused fires accounted for 93% of the area burned in 2023. _(Write-up · Exhibit C (Lightning's role))_ ## Write-up Canada's boreal fires and the smoke that crosses borders. The 2023 season burned about 15 million hectares, a national record. 1. **A record season**: In 2023, about 15 million hectares burned in Canada, by far the most since comprehensive national reporting began around 1972. That's more than double the 1989 record of 6.7 million hectares, and Quebec, the Northwest Territories, Alberta and British Columbia each set provincial or territorial records. 2. **Preliminary vs. final**: The widely reported 18.5 million hectares came from real-time operational reports through CIFFC. The revised figure of about 15 million hectares excludes lakes and unburned patches inside fire perimeters. 3. **Lightning's role**: Lightning ignited 59% of the roughly 6,700 fires but accounted for 93% of the area burned. On June 1 alone, more than 120 fires were started by lightning in Quebec. 4. **Smoke far away**: Smoke affected major population centers more than 1,000 km from the fires, including southern Canada and the U.S. east coast. More than 200 communities were evacuated. 5. **Normal vs. extreme**: In an average year, about 2.5 million hectares burn in Canada. The 2023 season ran from mid-April to late October. ## Related case files - [Nature's Reclamation (DD-066)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/natures-reclamation/): Another Nature case about landscapes changing - [Hose Goals (DD-424)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/hose-goals/): I linked more firefighting - [Doom Plume (DD-636)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/doom-plume/): Another giant plume that drifts far - [Eye of the Storm (DD-712)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/eye-of-the-storm/): Another extreme-weather case - [Reservoir Ruin (DD-718)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/reservoir-ruin/): Another case about drought and heat - [Not So Well (DD-719)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/not-so-well/): Another case about smoke and fire on a vast scale ## Reel vs. record - **Missing context**: the Reel gives no numbers. The record 2023 season burned about 15 million hectares, more than double the 1989 record of 6.7 million hectares. - **Data**: the widely shared 18.5 million hectares was a preliminary operational estimate. The revised figure is about 15 million (Jain et al., 2024). - **Emphasis**: lightning started 59% of 2023's fires but caused 93% of the area burned. Human-caused fires accounted for about 7%. - **Scale**: an average Canadian year burns about 2.5 million hectares, so 2023 was roughly six times the norm. - **Precision**: the 2023 smoke affected cities more than 1,000 km from the fires, including the U.S. east coast, and more than 200 communities were evacuated. ## Video: Canadian Wildfires: Canada's Boreal Fires and the Smoke That Crosses Borders - Duration: 24.0 s · Published: 2026-07-25 - File: https://detailenjoyer.com/assets/videos/DbOmHBMP6k6.mp4 ### Transcript DID YOU KNOW? Canada experiences some of the largest wildfires on earth, with millions of hectares of boreal forest burning during severe fire seasons, driven by prolonged drought, high temperatures, low humidity, and lightning strikes. In recent years, increasingly intense fire seasons have produced massive smoke plumes that travel thousands of kilometers, degrading air quality across Canada and the United States, while disrupting transportation and daily life. NOW YOU KNOW! ## Questions & answers **Q: About how many hectares burned in Canada in 2023?** A: About 15 million hectares, a national record. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit A (A record season) · Jain et al. (2024), Drivers and impacts of the record-breaking 2023 wildfire season in Canada, Nature Communications; Natural Resources Canada: Canada's record-breaking wildfires in 2023: A fiery wake-up call)_ **Q: Which year held the previous record?** A: 1989, with 6.7 million hectares. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit A (A record season) · Jain et al. (2024), Drivers and impacts of the record-breaking 2023 wildfire season in Canada, Nature Communications; Natural Resources Canada: Canada's record-breaking wildfires in 2023: A fiery wake-up call)_ **Q: What share of 2023's burned area came from lightning fires?** A: 93%; lightning started 59% of the fires. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit C (Lightning's role) · Jain et al. (2024), Drivers and impacts of the record-breaking 2023 wildfire season in Canada, Nature Communications; Natural Resources Canada: Canada's record-breaking wildfires in 2023: A fiery wake-up call)_ **Q: What was the 18.5 million hectare figure?** A: It was an operational estimate, later revised to about 15 million. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit B (Preliminary vs. final) · Jain et al. (2024), Drivers and impacts of the record-breaking 2023 wildfire season in Canada, Nature Communications; Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC))_ **Q: How many communities were evacuated in 2023?** A: More than 200, some twice. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit D (Smoke far away) · Jain et al. (2024), Drivers and impacts of the record-breaking 2023 wildfire season in Canada, Nature Communications)_ ## Sources - [Jain et al. (2024), Drivers and impacts of the record-breaking 2023 wildfire season in Canada, Nature Communications](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-51154-7) - [Natural Resources Canada: Canada's record-breaking wildfires in 2023: A fiery wake-up call](https://natural-resources.canada.ca/stories/simply-science/canada-s-record-breaking-wildfires-2023-fiery-wake-call) - [Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC)](https://ciffc.net/) ## Cite this case file Easterling, Marcus. "Canadian Wildfires." The Detail Department (DetailEnjoyer), case file DD-730, last updated Jul 25, 2026. https://detailenjoyer.com/case/canadian-wildfires/