Northern Ontario is burning, and the current strategy isn't holding up.
When a fast-moving blaze tore through the Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, also known as Collins First Nation, the community didn't have days or even hours to prepare. They had less than sixty minutes. As flames consumed homes and buildings, residents went door-to-door, grabbed their pets, and scrambled onto boats to escape across the water. The entire community was destroyed in under an hour.
This isn't a freak accident. It's a systemic failure.
Every summer, we watch the same script play out. Remote, largely Indigenous communities bear the brunt of catastrophic wildfires, while provincial and federal governments bicker over resources and logistics. Now, Ontario has formally requested federal support, including the potential deployment of the Canadian Armed Forces, to help rescue thousands of people stranded in isolated northern towns.
We need to talk about why our emergency response gridlock keeps happening and what needs to change before more communities are wiped off the map.
The Realities of Northern Evacuations
Ontario’s Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Jill Dunlop, sent a precautionary request to Ottawa asking for military aircraft and personnel that can deploy within 24 hours. Fifteen northern communities are either actively evacuating or on the verge of it.
Here is the problem: you can't just drive out of these places.
Many of these towns have no winter road access in July, let alone highways that can handle mass evacuations. When the smoke rolls in, the only way out is by air or water. If the provincial government waits until a fire is on a town’s doorstep to ask for federal planes, it’s already too late. High winds, shifting fire fronts, and thick, choking smoke make flying incredibly hazardous, sometimes grounding the very aircraft sent to save people.
Canada currently has hundreds of active wildfires burning across the country, with over a hundred deemed completely out of control. The scorched area has already surpassed last year’s totals for this point in the season. The strain on resources is real.
But relying on a reactive game of telephone between Toronto and Ottawa isn't a plan. It's a gamble.
Indigenous Communities Pay the Highest Price
The Assembly of First Nations has called for an independent review of how the Collins First Nation evacuation was handled, pointing out that the community was essentially left to fend for itself during the initial disaster. This highlights a deeper, uncomfortable truth: remote Indigenous communities face a disproportionate amount of risk.
- Isolation: Limited infrastructure means fewer escape routes.
- Delayed Response: Air support and elite firefighting crews are often stationed hundreds of kilometers away in major hubs like Thunder Bay.
- Loss of Heritage: When a remote community burns, it isn't just about real estate. It's the destruction of ancestral land, history, and a distinct way of life.
Instead of just funding temporary shelters and flight hours after the disaster strikes, the priority needs to shift toward year-round, local emergency management.
Moving Beyond Reactive Crisis Management
We know the smoke doesn't stay in the woods. It drifts south, choking cities from Toronto down through the Midwestern and Northeastern United States, triggering hazardous air quality alerts and forcing millions indoor. The economic and health impacts are massive.
If we want to stop repeating this cycle every summer, we have to change how we fund and manage northern forests.
First, Canada needs a dedicated, year-round federal firefighting and evacuation fleet. Relying on the military as a default backup puts an unfair burden on the armed forces and slows down response times due to political red tape.
Second, real authority and funding must be handed over to local Indigenous-led fire stewardship programs. The people who live on these lands know the terrain, the weather patterns, and the fuel loads better than a bureaucrat sitting in an office in southern Ontario. Giving local teams the training, heavy equipment, and authority to conduct managed burns and create defensible spaces before the heat of July hits is the most effective way to protect these towns.
If you live in or near a high-risk northern zone, don't wait for an official notice to prepare. Keep a go-bag packed with essential documents, medications, and valuables. Coordinate a clear communication plan with your family, and make sure you know multiple local exit routes by water or trail if the main roads cut off. Community resilience starts with local preparation.
The destruction of Namaygoosisagagun should be a final warning. If we don't fix the bottleneck between provincial requests and federal action, the next town won't even have an hour to escape.
Ontario wildfire emergency response update This video provides direct reporting on Ontario's emergency request for federal resources and military assistance during the northern wildfire crisis.
