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Ontario logged record number of wildfires in 2021 amid severe weather conditions

Ontario logged a record number of wildfires this year amid severely dry weather conditions. 

The province says the drought and dry conditions that began in July led to 1,198 fires.

That includes a 2,000 square-kilometre fire that's considered one of the largest in the province's history. 

This year's particularly hot and dry fire season prompted the province to issue an emergency order for northwestern Ontario and call for help from the United States, Mexico and Australia.

Thousands of people were evacuated from First Nations communities in response to the situation. 

Officials said this summer that the number and size of fires in the province's north were substantially higher than average. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2021.

The Canadian Press


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