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Wildfire near Sawmill Bay (Jun 24)

Active · 13,500 ha (33,359 acres) · started 2026-06-24 · updated 2026-08-11

Wildfire near Sawmill Bay (Jun 24) — Sentinel-2 true color Wildfire near Sawmill Bay (Jun 24) — Sentinel-2 SWIR (fuego) True color Fire (SWIR)
True color (left): as the eye sees it.
Infrared / SWIR (right): sees through smoke.

🟢 green = vegetation
🟤 red/brown = burned
🟠 orange = active fire

Imagery: Sentinel-2 (Copernicus). Drag to compare smoke vs. infrared.

Heat detections: NASA FIRMS (last 48h).

Burning for 48 days near Sawmill Bay, Northwest Territories, an active wildfire has expanded to cover 13,500 hectares (33,359 acres) since it started on June 24, 2026. The fire has sustained an average daily growth of approximately 281 hectares per day across the landscape.

This incident unfolds during the region's typical fire season, which runs from May to September. Meanwhile, the broader national landscape reflects contrasting conditions, with 2,286,112 hectares burned across the country so far in 2026, marking a figure 46% below the two-decade average.

In context

This wildfire has been burning in Northwest Territories for 64 days. So far it has affected roughly 13,500 ha (33,359 acres) — about 135 km².

In the Northern Hemisphere, wildfire activity usually peaks during the warm, dry months — roughly May through October.

The bigger picture in Canada

Across Canada, roughly 2,521,984 hectares have burned so far in 2026 — 40% below the two-decade average. Data from Copernicus GWIS.

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