Canada prepares evacuation as wildfires spread smoke across US

Canadian authorities moved to evacuate Eabametoong First Nation, also known as Fort Hope, after a rapidly advancing wildfire threatened about 600 people in northern Ontario. Federal Emergencies Minister Eleanor Olszewski said the military was being positioned to help, and the Canadian Armed Forces received a Request for Federal Assistance on July 17 to support the evacuation by aircraft.

Ontario had already asked the federal government for help with possible evacuations on July 16 as wildfires kept spreading across remote parts of the province. By July 17, Canada was tracking 65 active wildfires, part of a larger season that had already left hundreds burning nationwide. The same smoke plume that threatened homes in Fort Hope pushed hazardous air quality across the U.S. Midwest, the Great Lakes region and the Northeast.

Cities far from the flames were hit with some of the worst air in the world. Detroit recorded the world’s worst air quality during the smoke event, while dense haze pushed pollution to dangerous levels for millions of people in places including New York. Officials urged residents to stay indoors as fine particulate pollution spread through major population centers such as Toronto, New York City and Philadelphia.

Indigenous people make up about 5% of Canada’s population but roughly half of all evacuees during wildfire emergencies, a pattern tied to remoteness, limited road access and thinner infrastructure. Donald Trump blamed Canada for the smoke and said he would add cost to tariffs. A similar cross-border wildfire emergency unfolded in 2023, when a Canadian town was evacuated after a fire crossed from the United States.