WILDFIRE FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Wildfires aren’t the only thing spreading fast, disinformation blows up faster than the Pinkbike comment section on a product review… But seriously, a lot of people still don’t understand how climate change actually connects to wildfires. And that’s fair, it’s not always obvious. So let’s clear the smoke and debunk a few of the most common wildfire myths we see out there.
MYTH: “Most wildfires are caused by arsonists”
FACT: Lightning strikes are responsible for just under half of all wildfires in Canada, but they cause over 81% of the area burned. Humans are responsible for the rest of them. The split between the two causes varies from region to region.
Let’s get something straight - human-caused does not necessarily mean arson. It could mean a variety of things such as machinery and motorized vehicle use or human error such as flicking a cigarette or failing to put out a campfire. In fact, arson accounts for 1 to 4% of all human-caused fires in Canada.
MYTH: “It has nothing to do with climate change, it’s because of bad forest management.”
FACT: I can’t name a good recipe with only ONE ingredient… same goes for wildfires.
Wildfires require 3 ingredients: fuel, ignition and weather. Climate change affects all three. Hotter, drier, windier conditions turn forests into tinderboxes. More frequent droughts, heatwaves, and lightning storms make it easier for fires to ignite and harder to control them.
Sure… bad forest policy, fire suppression, and the suppression of Indigenous fire stewardship all play a role. But climate change is the amplifier. We won’t get real solutions without addressing all of it.
MYTH: “Wildfires are natural, we shouldn’t worry.”
FACT: Yes, wildfires are a natural part of many ecosystems. But what’s not natural is how intense, fast, and destructive they’ve become. Fire seasons in Canada are starting earlier, lasting longer, and burning more intensely. Summers are getting hotter and drier, with more wind and less rain in some areas—perfect fire conditions.
So no, this isn’t just “nature doing its thing.” It's nature under stress.
MYTH: “Wildfires only affect people living in forests.”
FACT: Wildfire smoke can travel thousands of kilometres, affecting millions of Canadians, even those in cities. In 2023, wildfire smoke caused record air quality alerts across the country and into the U.S. More recently, on June 6th 2025, Montreal and Toronto ranked among the worst air quality in the world due to the wildfires in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and western Ontario.
MYTH: “Canada is huge, there will always be more forest to burn. It doesn’t matter.”
FACT: Canada’s forests don’t bounce back as easily as people think, especially with repeated, high-intensity fires. In 2023, if Canada’s forest wildfires were a country, they would have been the world’s eighth-largest emitter.
Still thinking space lasers are the main cause? Check out this fact sheet from the Climate Institute connecting the dots between wildfires and climate change.
Enough reading... you want to do something? Join us in demanding decision makers protect the places we love from wildfire risk: