Yup, forest fires do help renew the forests and in the case of Ontario not a lot of people had to be evacuated as the fires were for the most part away from heavily populated areas. The smoke from the fires was a problem for a lot of folks across North America though.
There really is no up side for the places that have been badly flooded and in some cases repeatedly this year around the world.
All these events have been of far greater magnitude than is normal too. Lets hope next year shows a return to normalcy.
Bob