Wildfire, a force of nature’s regeneration in Wapusk

Wapusk is a place of change. Crossing the landscape, you can see it transition from boreal forest in the southwest, through peatlands in its centre, towards coastal ridges and fens in the northeast. Through the seasons you’ll see it turn from a snow-covered expanse to a rich, plant-filled panorama, teaming with life. Another way that the park changes every year is the cycle of growth caused by naturally occurring wildfires.

Fire is a natural and normal part of many ecosystems, including the boreal forest. It plays an important role in the creation of habitat for many plants, animals, and insects.

In areas of the park affected by wildfires, mostly in the southwest boreal forest, you can see fresh plant growth following the natural disturbance. As areas recover from natural wildfires, their growth cycle is visibly different than unaffected areas. These fires support diversity in plant species and maturity of flora, help stop the spread of diseases, invasive plants and insects and return nutrients to the soil.

Over time, fires create a mosaic of vegetation, with different ages and types. This provides a rich variety of habitats that support many species of insects, mammals and birds. This is biodiversity — it indicates a thriving ecosystem that is likely to survive in the future.

Natural wildfires can also cause significant harm to the ecosystems in the park by destabilizing permafrost integrity, destroying tree cover and lichen that caribou depend on, and affecting stability of polar bear maternity dens.

Wildfires don’t just shape the landscape of Wapusk, they also influence climate change. Wildfires can rapidly release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, changing the balance that determines whether an area is a carbon sink or a carbon source.

Fire sighting, not fire fighting

With the help of weather stations and online tools, our Fire Operations Coordinator can see a fire coming from 100 km away. Weather stations in the park allow us to assess the risk of fire by monitoring temperature, relative humidity and wind speed and direction. These factors work together to tell us the likelihood of a wildfire starting in the region which we share with our national fire management team. They use this information to create a fulsome picture of wildfire risk across all Parks Canada administered places.

Online tools are also utilized to check the site for hot spots, a sign of a fire. One of these tools is NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) which shares data from satellites that detect heat signatures on the surface of the Earth. However, when there’s heat, there isn’t always fire!

Due to the remote location of the park and the natural role of fire in this ecosystem, fires are monitored instead of managed. Because the wildfires are typically safely located away from communities and infrastructure, this approach increases the potential for positive ecological outcomes while limiting firefighters’ exposure to hazards and substantially reducing the costs of managing a wildfire.

Building a better understanding of the benefits and challenges of wildfires is crucial to the monitoring of the ecological integrity of the park. In 2025, Parks Canada studied 61 years of data to learn about the frequency, location and behaviour of natural wildfires in Wapusk. This information will be used in fire management planning, to support protection of values at risk in the park and will help to prioritize distribution of resources and future studies.

We want to hear from you!

Parks Canada and the Wapusk Management Board would appreciate any comments about this issue of Wapusk News, or suggestions for future issues. Please send your feedback to Email address: manitoba@pc.gc.ca, visit the Parks Canada Visitor Centre in Churchill or call Phone number: 204-675-8863.

<< A day in the life of lake hydrology ||

Return to table of contents