Manitoba Live Wildfire Smoke Map
Get Alerts For Wildfires In Your Area
The moment a wildfire starts near you, you'll get an instant alert and simple tips to reduce your smoke exposure.
What's In The Smoke
30xSmaller than a human hair
Fine enough to reach deep into the lungs. A MERV 13 is built to capture it.
How Far It Travels
It Doesn't Stay Local
Smoke rides the wind far downwind — you can get smoky air with no fire nearby.
What To Do During A Smoke Event
Simple steps to reduce indoor exposure.
- Stay In, Close UpShut windows and doors to keep smoke out.
- Set Fan To "On"Keeps air cycling through your filter, not just when heating or cooling.
- Recirculate AirSwitch off fresh-air intake so you're not pulling smoke in.
- Run A MERV 13Built to capture the fine PM2.5 in smoke.
- Add A PurifierExtra filtration for the room you use most.
- Wear an N95 if OutsideFits snug to block fine particles — a cloth mask won't.
The Best Air Filter For Wildfire Smoke
During smoke events, the EPA recommends upgrading to a MERV 13 filter — or the highest-rated filter your system can handle — to help reduce the fine particles smoke brings indoors. MERV 13 is the level most home HVAC systems can run while still capturing PM2.5, the fine particulate that makes up the bulk of wildfire smoke.
- Captures PM2.5 particles
- Blocks ash, soot, and smoke odor
- Keeps your indoor air safe—even when the outdoor air is dangerous
- Meets the EPA's recommended rating for filtering fine wildfire smoke particles.
Wildfire Smoke FAQs
Facts About Wildfires
Over 70,000 wildfires burn in the U.S. every year.
Wildfire smoke can travel 1,000+ miles, affecting states that aren't even near the blaze.
Exposure to wildfire smoke can worsen asthma, trigger heart issues, and lead to ER visits.
Indoor air can hold more fine particles during wildfire events unless it's properly filtered.
The EPA advises using MERV 13 filters or portable HEPA air cleaners during wildfire smoke events.
Don't Wait Until The Smoke's Inside.
Use the live wildfire smoke tracker and upgrade your air filters today to protect your lungs and your home.
Shop Filters For Smoke Protection
Live Manitoba Forest Wildfire & Smoke Map Today: Provincial Air Quality Tracking & Indoor Protection Solutions
TL;DR
The live map above shows where Manitoba's wildfires are burning today and where their smoke is drifting. Confirm fires on FireView and check your local AQHI for health risk. If smoke moves in, follow ECCC and local health advice first. Then put a MERV 13 filter in your furnace, switch the fan to "On," run a portable HEPA air cleaner in each occupied room, and close up the house.
Is wildfire smoke reaching your part of Manitoba right now? When we checked on September 28, 2026, Winnipeg's AQHI sat at 2 (low risk). After a decade-plus of shipping filters through real smoke seasons, Filterbuy hears the same two questions every year: how bad is it today, and how do I keep it out of the house?
How Filterbuy built this page: we compared five official fire and air-quality tools and paired each AQHI level with a home step. Licensed technician David Clark reviewed the HVAC guidance.
Key Takeaways
Manitoba's wildfire season runs from April 1 to November 15.
Manitoba uses the AQHI, a 1–10+ scale: 1–3 is low risk, 4–6 moderate, 7–10 high, above 10 very high.
A smoke plume on a map isn't the air you breathe. The AQHI measures ground level.
Health Canada and the U.S. EPA both recommend MERV 13 or higher furnace filters during smoke events.
Where Are the Wildfires in Manitoba Today?
Manitoba is near the end of its wildfire season. Canada's final national fire report of 2026, released September 16, showed activity close to the 10-year average.
Sources: Manitoba 2025 Wildfire Interim After Action Review (April 2026); Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre data to August 31, 2026; 211 Manitoba.
Manitoba's 2025 Wildfire Interim After Action Review found that communities nowhere near the flames saw some of the worst air quality on record. Smoke here is a province-wide concern.
Check current fire and travel restrictions. To report a wildfire, call 1-800-782-0076. For evacuation news, see MBReady or dial 2-1-1.
Which Manitoba Fire and Smoke Maps Update Fastest?
No single map is truly real time. When we lined up Manitoba's official tools, each ran on its own clock, and FireView's table can trail a fire by a business day.
Update timing per each agency, checked September 28, 2026. Use FireView for official fire status and the AQHI for health decisions.
Filterbuy's rule of thumb: Plan, Decide, Confirm. Use FireWork or FireSmoke Canada to plan your week. Use the AQHI to decide what to do today. Then use FireView or the CWFIS map to confirm fires.
What Does Today's AQHI Mean for Your Home?
The Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) is Canada's official 1–10+ health-risk scale from Environment and Climate Change Canada. During smoke events it's calculated hourly from PM2.5, the fine particles in smoke, so it reacts fast.
Filterbuy's action line in Manitoba is an AQHI of 7, the start of ECCC's high-risk range. At 7 or above, put a MERV 13 filter in your furnace, set the thermostat fan to "On," run a portable HEPA air cleaner in each occupied room, and close up the house. Official guidance covers outdoors, so we added a column for inside.
AQHI scale and outdoor guidance: Environment and Climate Change Canada. Indoor actions are Filterbuy recommendations, not ECCC guidance.
Children and older adults face higher risk. If you have a heart or lung condition, follow your health-care provider's advice. Set alerts in WeatherCAN.
How Does Wildfire Smoke Get Inside Manitoba Homes?
Smoke slips in through open windows and small gaps, and a heat recovery ventilator (HRV) pulls it in as it swaps indoor air for outdoor air. Your furnace filter cleans air across the whole house, but only while air moves through it.
That's the blind spot Filterbuy's team sees most here. Smoke season runs mostly from spring into early fall, when many homes aren't heating or cooling. With the fan on "Auto," the blower barely runs and even a new MERV 13 filter sits idle.
What to Do When Smoke Reaches Manitoba
Start with official guidance: follow ECCC air quality alerts and your regional health authority, including any advice to relocate. Then work through these steps, ideally before the AQHI turns high.
Put a MERV 13 filter in your furnace. It's the whole-home layer, because the central system moves far more air than any portable unit.
Set the thermostat fan to "On." "Auto" only filters while the system heats or cools.
Run a portable HEPA air cleaner in each occupied room, bedrooms first. That's Filterbuy's recommendation, beyond the usual one-room advice. If you can only buy one, put it in the bedroom. NCCEH reports portable cleaners cut PM2.5 by an average of 57% during smoke episodes.
Close up the house. Shut windows and doors, set your HRV to recirculate or off, and skip candles, frying, smoking, and vacuuming. On a hot day, heat can be a bigger danger than smoke.
Inspect your filter during smoke. The U.S. EPA says to replace it when it looks dark brown or black, which may be well before the usual interval, and to keep spares on hand.
MERV 13 treats the whole house; a HEPA cleaner treats one room harder, so use both. HEPA belongs in a portable unit, never a furnace slot. Our MERV 13 vs. HEPA guide explains why.
No Furnace to Upgrade? Options for Renters and Apartments
Plenty of Manitobans rent or heat with baseboards, so there's no furnace filter to change. Here, portable HEPA air cleaners are the main defence:
Match a HEPA cleaner to the room. The U.S. EPA advises a smoke CADR of at least two-thirds of the floor area in square feet. A 300 sq ft bedroom wants a smoke CADR of about 200. Skip ionizers and ozone generators; EPA advises against air cleaners that produce ozone.
Build a DIY box-fan cleaner in a pinch. EPA research found a box fan with a MERV 13 filter reduces smoke. Use a certified fan made in 2012 or later, and don't leave it running unattended. It's a stopgap, not a replacement for a certified air cleaner.
Ask your landlord to install MERV 13 filters and close outdoor-air intakes on smoky days.
What MERV Rating Filters Wildfire Smoke?
MERV 13. Health Canada and the U.S. EPA both recommend a MERV 13 or higher filter in a central system during smoke events, and MERV 13 is the tier Filterbuy recommends for smoke. The U.S. EPA says most furnaces and HVAC systems can run MERV 13 without equipment problems if the filter is replaced often.
Filtration wording from the Filterbuy MERV ladder. MERV 13 is the tier Filterbuy recommends for smoke.
The fit check is the usual one: match the size printed on your current filter, depth included. Pleated filters capture particles, not odours, which are gases. If a smoky smell lingers after the event, Filterbuy's Odor Eliminator line is built for household odours.
Filterbuy's Manitoba filter calendar: fire season opens April 1, as winter leaves most furnace filters loaded. Swap in a fresh MERV 13 on April 1, inspect it at your first AQHI reading of 4 or higher, replace it after heavy smoke if it looks dark brown or black, and start the heating season with a new one on November 15.
Filterbuy makes 600+ sizes plus custom sizes, shipped free to Canada. Filterbuy auto-delivery saves 5% and can follow this calendar.
CTA: Find Your Filter Size → · CTA: Shop MERV 13 Filters →
Supporting Statistics: What the Research Shows
1. In June 2023, 75 million people in the U.S. breathed unhealthy or hazardous air caused by Canadian wildfire smoke.
Source: American Lung Association
2. On wildfire smoke days, asthma emergency department visits ran 17% higher than expected.
Source: CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
3. With windows closed, indoor PM2.5 still averages 55%–60% of outdoor levels during smoke. A high-efficiency HVAC filter with the fan running continuously cuts it by about 50%.
That's the "On" setting. Source: U.S. EPA
Frequently Asked Questions
When Is It Safe to Open the Windows Again?
Once the AQHI is back to 1–3 and the forecast looks clear, air out the home, even between smoke waves.
How Often Should I Change My Furnace Filter During Smoke Season?
Check it during every smoke event and replace it when it looks dark brown or black, which can be well before the normal interval. Keep spares on hand; Filterbuy auto-delivery can send them ahead of time.
Glossary
AQHI (Air Quality Health Index): Canada's 1–10+ health-risk scale for outdoor air.
CADR: Clean air delivery rate, how fast a cleaner removes particles.
CWFIS: Natural Resources Canada's wildfire information system.
ECCC: Environment and Climate Change Canada.
FireView: The Manitoba Wildfire Service's official wildfire map.
FireWork: ECCC's 72-hour wildfire smoke forecast.
HEPA filter: A filter for portable air cleaners that captures 99.97% of 0.3-micron particles.
HRV (heat recovery ventilator): A unit that swaps indoor and outdoor air while keeping heat.
MERV: Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value, a filter efficiency rating.
NCCEH: National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health (Canada).
PM2.5: Fine particles 2.5 microns or smaller, the main health hazard in smoke.
Related guides: Live Canada wildfire and smoke map · Live Ontario wildfire and smoke map · How to read a wildfire smoke map · Running an air purifier during wildfire season