Canada fires set area burned, evacuation, cost records

Fire season is only halfway finished but wildfires raging across Canada have already broken records for total area burned, the number of people forced to evacuate their homes and the cost of fighting the blazes, officials say.

"It's no understatement to say that the 2023 fire season is and will continue to be record-breaking in a number of ways," Michael Norton, director general of the Northern Forestry Centre, Canadian Forest Service, told reporters on Thursday.

A health expert also warned smoke from the fires can cause health problems for people living in both Canada and the United States.

"When you're emitting large amounts of fire smoke into the air, and that smoke is reaching populated areas, there will be health effects," Simon Fraser University health sciences professor Ryan Allen said.

Norton said warm weather and dry conditions across Canada indicate the potential for higher-than-normal fire activity through July and August.

"Drought is a major contributing factor," he said.

"When coupled with forecasts for ongoing above-normal temperatures across most of the country, it is anticipated that many parts of Canada will continue to see above-normal fire activity."

As of Wednesday, there were 639 active fires burning in Canada with 351 of them out of control.

So far this year there have been 3412 fires, well above the 10-year average of 2751, Norton said.

The fires have burned 8.8 million hectares, exceeding the record of 7.6 million hectares set in 1989, covering an area 11 times the 10-year average experienced by this date.

"The final area burned for this season may yet be significantly higher," Norton said.

Allen said the fine particles found in fire smoke can also travel long distances, meaning they could drift far into the US.

There have been reports fires in Eastern Canada and Quebec are affecting air quality in Europe.

Allen said higher concentrations of smoke increase health risks to the lungs, brain, cognitive functions and even fetal development.

Norton said the fires have forced an estimated 155,856 evacuees, the highest number in the last four decades.

Currently, about 4500 people remain under evacuation orders across the country with about 3400 in Indigenous communities.

Fighting the fires has taken on a global proportion.

There are about 3790 provincial firefighters battling the blazes across the country being assisted by Canadian Armed Forces personnel.

Another 3258 firefighters from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, the US, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, South Korea and the European Union have travelled to Canada to fight fires.

Norton said the cost of fighting wildfires has steadily grown and is approaching about $C1 billion ($A1.1 billion) a year.

"With the scale of this year's activity and the fact we've still got three months left, there's no question in my mind the direct cost of suppression will be a new record," he said.