Smoke to pour into the US as Canada wildfires force province's largest evacuation in 'living memory'

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Source: CNN Weather

Updated May 29, 2025, 5:20 PM ET
PUBLISHED May 29, 2025, 2:47 PM ET


Massive wildfires burning out of control in western and central Canada are forcing thousands to flee as dire forecasts for the country’s fire season come to fruition. The intensifying blazes are also beginning to send hazardous smoke toward major cities in the United States.

The premiers of Manitoba and Saskatchewan have declared states of emergency and much of Canada, from the Northwest Territories and Alberta to Quebec, are at “extreme” risk of wildfires on Thursday—the highest level on Environment Canada’s fire risk scale. There are just over 160 wildfires burning across Canada as of Thursday, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center, and about half are uncontrolled.

The country raised its National Preparedness Level to level 5 of 5 on Thursday, which is unusually high for this early in the fire season. Last year, Canada didn’t reach that level until July 15. In Manitoba, around 17,000 people are under evacuation orders, including the city of Flin Flon, Pimicikamak Cree Nation and the northern community of Cross Lake, along with Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, according to CNN’s Canadian news partner CBC News.

The province’s state of emergency will remain in effect for a month and may be extended if conditions warrant, said Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew. “This is a moment of fear and uncertainty. This is a moment of concern,” Kinew said, acknowledging this is the largest evacuation order in “in most people’s living memory.”

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/29/weather/canada-wildfires-smoke-midwest-climate

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Get ready DUers in the upper midwest, where MN is already has Air Quality Alerts lofted. Also from the article -

Computer models show that smoke from the western Canadian blazes will reach the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes Thursday and Friday, potentially affecting the cities of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Chicago and Detroit.