Canada is facing its second-worst wildfire season on record. Responders are needed now.
Our Impact
NGO partners supported
Responders sent
Situation Overview
It is a race against time to help communities in the fires’ path that are anticipated to be evacuated or need support through the season.
Wildfires in Canada are growing more intense and destructive each year. Record-breaking fire seasons have burned millions of hectares, displaced thousands of Canadians, and placed enormous strain on local firefighting resources. The 2025 season beginning in mid-May, is primarily affecting the western provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta. Critical infrastructure has been lost, and Indigenous communities in Northern Ontario have had to relocate their most vulnerable members to escape hazardous wildfire smoke. It is expected the fires will persist through the summer and into September.
Airlink’s Disaster Response
Airlink is supporting responders to travel to multiple provinces in Western Canada to clear downed trees and remove branches, restore power, provide essential firefighting equipment, and put out fires.
In Saskatchewan, GlobalMedic is partnering with rural and volunteer fire departments to provide urgently needed firefighting equipment, increasing their capacity to respond quickly and effectively to fast-moving fires. A central part of this response is the deployment of fire skid units. Each includes a 1,000-litre water tank, a high-pressure pump, and hose, allowing crews to operate in rugged terrain and reach areas inaccessible to full-sized engines and pumpers. With this equipment, local crews can respond more quickly, protect more homes, and keep more families and infrastructure safe.
In Alberta, Team Rubicon Canada chainsaw and heavy equipment operators are working on clearing trees and debris removal. They are also addressing wildfire risks by actively thinning flammable trees and reducing ground fuels to protect homes in the wildland-urban interface.
Special Thanks
Airlink thanks Air Canada for their generous ticket support, making it possible for responders to reach communities both large and small, many of which are remote, across Western Canada.
Response Partners
Jasper Wildfire
Situation Overview
In July 2024, a devastating wildfire erupted in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada. Over the past month, it has consumed approximately 81,663 acres of land, making it Jasper’s largest wildfire in over a century. The fire forced the evacuation of over 25,000 residents, who were displaced for several weeks as the flames ravaged parts of the surrounding town. As of August 22, the wildfire is only 78% contained. However, evacuation orders have been lifted, allowing residents to return to their homes. Unfortunately, the fire has destroyed 30% of the town’s structures, with the majority being homes and businesses. The community now faces a significant need for recovery and rebuilding support.
Humanitarian Needs
There are urgent needs for post-wildfire support, including specialized services such as clean-up, structural assessments, personal effects recovery, and ash-sifting for residents whose properties have been devastated. These critical efforts are essential for helping individuals salvage what remains of their homes and start the process of rebuilding their lives.
Airlink’s Role: Overcoming Logistical Hurdles For NGOs
Airlink has activated its North America Regional Response Plan in response to the Jasper wildfire. We are collaborating with humanitarian, logistics, and airline partners in the region to assess critical needs and response capabilities.
The Municipality of Jasper has requested assistance from Airlink partner Team Rubicon Canada through the Humanitarian Workforce Program for recovery efforts. Team Rubicon Canada will conduct physical reconnaissance, site surveys, damage assessments, and property examinations of homes affected by the wildfire.
Additionally, Airlink partner Taskforce Kiwi is deploying a team of experts specialized in impact and damage assessment in post-wildfire environments. Airlink is working to address the high costs of transport by facilitating flights and managing the logistics to ensure that at least 50 responders from both Team Rubicon and Taskforce Kiwi can be effectively deployed over the next several weeks to support on-the-ground efforts in Alberta.
Your support is crucial—donate now to give the gift of flight.
Airlink has extensive experience working to mitigate the consequences of wildfires, most recently with the June 2023 wildfires in Nova Scotia, Quebec, British Columbia, and more.
Our Impact
NGO partners supported
Responders sent
Response Partners
2023 Canada Wildfires
Our Impact
NGO partners supported
Responders sent
Situation Overview
Canada is projected to experience its worst-ever wildfire season.
There are currently more than 400 active wildfires burning across Canadian territories and provinces including Nova Scotia, Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and the Northwest Territories. Roughly 26,000 people are under evacuation orders and thousands have already evacuated. So far, more than 8.5 million acres of land have burned in Canada this wildfire season.
Smoke and haze from the wildfires have also spread to the eastern U.S. placing tens of millions of people under air quality alerts.
Airlink is responding in the province of Nova Scotia, which is battling its largest wildfire ever on record with over 20,000 hectares of land burning from 13 wildfires. More than 18,000 people remain under evacuation orders in the region outside of Halifax. Over 200 structures, the majority homes, have been destroyed by the fires and around 100 homes have been severely damaged. The Emergency Management (EM) Office of the Government of Nova Scotia activated a state of emergency on May 28, 2023.
Disaster Response. Step One.
Get There.
Airlink is working with its NGO and airline partners to provide free-of-charge flights for responding personnel to fly to Nova Scotia. Volunteers will be providing critical services including incident management support, chainsaw operations, debris removal, heirloom recovery, and disaster mapping. Affected residents most in need of support will be prioritized.
Communities in Nova Scotia need our help
Airlink is dedicated to facilitating the transportation of over 80 skilled volunteers on behalf of our NGO network in the coming four weeks. Please support our response now to make this vital mission a reality. Your contribution will enable us to respond effectively and bring hope to those in need. Join us in making a difference today to help impacted communities in Nova Scotia.
Response Partners
British Columbia Wildfires
Our Response
British Columbia has experienced 1,453 wildfires in 2021, with 262 wildfires currently active in the province. The unprecedented scale and scope of these wildfires in British Columbia have required inter-provincial and international assistance.
Wildfires in Lytton Creek began on June 30, 2021, just south of the village of Lytton in British Columbia, Canada. The fire moved upward at a speed of up to 20 kilometers per hour, exploding several propane tanks upon moving into Lytton. Residents were evacuated within minutes without time to collect belongings. The village’s 250 residents, as well as 1,500-2,000 First Nations residents in the area, were heavily impacted by the wildfire’s damage.
Airlink working in partnership with long-time partners Air Canada and Team Rubicon (Canada), helped to co-ordinate and move Team Rubicon volunteers, known as ‘greyshirts’, to the region. Those volunteers were responding to a direct request from the local government for their specialized response capabilities, drawing on their experience in responding to the Ft. McMurray Wildfires in Alberta in 2016. Their initial team formed the core Emergency Operations Centre, working closely with the Chief Administrative Officer and Recovery Manager as well as Lytton’s Mayor and Council. Volunteers coming into Kamloops Airport in a phased approach spanning a number of weeks assisted community members in removing and disposing of damaged infrastructure, collecting personal belongings from ashes, and preparing homes for rebuilding.
Our Impact
NGO partners supported
Responders sent
Response Partners
Ft. McMurry Wildfires
Our Impact
Responders Sent
Volunteer Hours
saved in disaster recovery costs
in transportation provided
Our Response
On May 1, 2016, a wildfire began southwest of Ft. McMurray, Alberta, Canada. In the days that followed, the fire swept through the community, destroying more than 2,400 homes and buildings and forcing residents to flee in the biggest wildfire evacuation in Albertan history, spanning more than 1.4 million acres. The fire spread across northern Alberta and into Saskatchewan, impacting forested areas and oil sands operations alike, becoming the costliest disaster in Canadian history.
On May 30, Team Rubicon USA and Team Rubicon Canada launched Operation Pay Dirt, and deployed 80 members to Fort McMurray, Alberta, to assist the Regional Emergency Operations Centre and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in resident re-entry efforts. Team Rubicon members led teams of local resources in sifting through potentially hazardous debris and ash in destroyed homes to find keepsakes, heirlooms, and valuables for the residents.
Tasked with the challenge of building, supplying, and managing a 300+ person response in just a few days, Team Rubicon called on members of TR USA, TR UK, and TR Australia to support the recently-launched TR Canada.
Response Partners
