Wildfire & Smoke Protocol
Wildfire & Smoke Protocol
How we monitor fire and smoke conditions, what triggers a change to a program, and what it means for your booking. Current conditions by zone are shown live below.
For Participants and Program PartnersPurpose
Fire season is part of paddling in Ontario
Ontario has a legislated fire season from April through October, and our programs run from Lake Erie to the north shore of Lake Superior. Some seasons, wildfire and wildfire smoke are part of that landscape. This protocol sets out exactly how we make decisions when they are.
It treats two distinct hazards separately: fire itself, which can threaten a route or its exits, and smoke, which can affect a program hundreds of kilometres from any fire. Like our Lightning Safety Protocol, this is a standing document that governs every program on an ongoing basis, with the current version always applying.
The rule we operate by
Decisions follow published triggers, the fire map and the Air Quality Health Index, not our mood about the weather. When a trigger fires, the program changes. Every time.
AQHI 7: sessions modify
At a forecast AQHI of 7 or higher, sessions shift to lower-exertion formats and anyone can take a no-fault reschedule.
AQHI 10: nothing runs
At 10 or higher, no courses, no trips, no rental releases. Federal guidance for outdoor workers is to avoid strenuous activity, and our staff deliver every session.
Extra care at 55+
Federal guidance flags people 65 and older as higher risk from smoke. We apply the line at 55, deliberately more conservative, given the sustained effort our programs involve.
Who decides
The guide on the water makes the call
The decision to modify, delay, relocate, or cancel rests with the lead guide or instructor in the field. Every northern trip also has a shore-side coordinator watching the provincial fire map, connected to the group by satellite. Where there is any doubt, we take the conservative option. That is not negotiable, and it is the same rule that governs our lightning decisions.
What we monitor
Four sources, checked before every program
Fire conditions
Ontario's wildland fire map for active fires, fire status, and Restricted Fire Zone boundaries, plus Ontario Parks alerts and any evacuation notices for communities on or near a route. Northern trips are monitored throughout, twice daily when fire activity is near a route.
Air quality
The Air Quality Health Index forecast for the session window, not just the current reading, plus Special Air Quality Statements and multi-day smoke forecasts. Where official monitoring stations are sparse, as they are on the north shore, guides assess smoke by visibility in the field, and every trip first-aid kit carries N95 respirators.
Hazard one · fire
Fire near a route: hard triggers, not judgment calls
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A park closure covering any part of a route
The program is re-routed or cancelled. No exceptions.
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An evacuation alert or order on the route or at an access point
We don't launch, and a trip already underway moves to its exit. Every multi-day route we run has pre-planned exit points.
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A fire that is not under control near a route or its access roads
The trip is shortened, moved, or cancelled before departure. A fire between a group and its exit is an immediate move to the alternate exit.
Restricted Fire Zones · provincial law
No campfires in a Restricted Fire Zone
When the province declares a Restricted Fire Zone over an area we operate in, open fires of any kind are prohibited by law, including campfires. Trips in an RFZ run on gas stoves only. If a trip page or email mentioned campfires, this restriction overrides it.
Hazard two · smoke
Air quality: what happens at each level
Paddling instruction is strenuous outdoor activity, and our thresholds follow Environment and Climate Change Canada's published health guidance for exactly that. Federal guidance identifies people 65 and older, pregnant people, children, people with heart or lung conditions, and outdoor workers as higher risk from smoke. Because our instructors work outdoors all season, they are covered by the same guidance as participants.
Low
Normal operations.
Moderate
Programs run. We brief the group on symptoms to watch for, and anyone who wants a lower-intensity day gets one, no negotiation.
High
- Sessions shift to reduced-exertion formats: shortened days, no rolling sessions, no rescue-intensive work.
- Sessions with participants aged 55+, participants who are pregnant, minors, or anyone with a heart or lung condition are modified or rescheduled.
- Any participant may take a no-fault reschedule.
- A Special Air Quality Statement for the location activates this tier automatically, regardless of the current hourly reading.
Very High
Nothing runs. No courses, no trips, no rental releases. Federal guidance at this level is that at-risk groups, including outdoor workers, avoid strenuous outdoor activity. Our staff deliver every session, so this applies to everything we do.
Two overrides · they beat the numbers
Symptoms and visibility override the index
- Symptoms: if anyone in a group, participant or instructor, develops a persistent cough, wheeze, or chest tightness during a session, the session eases off or ends early no matter what the index says that day. Indexes lag conditions; lungs don't.
- Visibility: smoke on the water is also a navigation problem. If smoke reduces visibility on open water, we treat it exactly like fog: no committed crossings, regardless of the air quality reading.
Current conditions
Today's AQHI, live, by operating zone
These readings come directly from Environment and Climate Change Canada as this page loads. The worst reporting station in each zone sets the zone level, and the label on each card is the action this protocol requires at that level. We make decisions on the forecast for the session window, so the forecast maximum is shown alongside the current reading and sets the level when it is higher.
Reading these numbers
What this board can and can't tell you
- This shows smoke only. Fire proximity, Restricted Fire Zones, closures, and evacuations live on the Ontario fire map and Ontario Parks alerts. We check both; so can you.
- Superior coverage is thin: Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie bracket 700 km of shoreline. Between them, our guides assess smoke by visibility in the field, and reduced visibility is treated as at least the High tier.
- No data on a zone is not a green light. A Special Air Quality Statement activates High-tier actions even if a number here reads lower.
What it means for your booking
Haze is not a cancellation
- A smoky horizon, the smell of smoke, or a session that runs in a modified format is a normal part of paddling in fire season and does not change your booking, the same way a lightning hold that passes doesn't.
- If we cancel, or a trigger materially cuts a program short, you receive a full-value credit with no expiry, transferable to anyone you choose. Where space exists in an equivalent program in an unaffected region, we'll offer that as an alternative you can take instead. A stop initiated by Kayak Ontario on safety grounds is never treated as a participant cancellation, and no cancellation fee applies.
- If a safety call changes a trip in progress: holds, weather days, and layovers are part of expedition travel and do not change your booking. A day that runs in a modified form, on an adjusted route or in a different area, is a delivered day. If we end a program early on safety grounds, the days that didn't run convert to a full-value credit at the program's daily rate, with partial days counted in your favour. And if a safety stop is what kept you from completing a certification assessment, the completion session is on us, scheduled on a mutually agreed day, in addition to your credit.
- If you choose to cancel when no trigger has fired, our standard cancellation policy applies. Full terms are published at kayak-ontario.com/policies/refund-policy.
What helps on the day
Three things that keep it simple
- Tell us about heart or lung conditions. The medical form is how we know who needs the extra-care tier. It changes how we run a smoky day, not whether you're welcome on it.
- Check conditions with us, not just the sky. Smoke forecasts change fast. If you're unsure where your program stands during a fire or smoke event, contact us and we'll tell you exactly.
- Support the call. If a session is modified or stood down, supporting the decision with your group helps everyone respond quickly.