As Alberta prepares for wildfire battle, union pushes recruitment efforts

With about two weeks left of winter, Alberta’s wildfire season – and funding for fireplace preparedness – have already begun.

The province’s wildfire season formally begins on March 1 and runs till Oct. 31. In response to provincial numbers, Alberta kicked off the season with 10 lively wildfires, down from 60 on the identical time final yr.

This week’s Alberta price range had $7.5 billion allotted over three years for municipal infrastructure help, which included $47 million for wildfire administration for communities. Damaged down, it contains $22 million for wildfire enhancements, $19 million for a facility improve program and $6 million for administration readiness.

Finances 2025 additionally included $160 million in base funding for wildfire personnel, tools, coaching and contracts.

Alberta Union of Provincial Staff (AUPE) vice-president James Gault says many of the $160 million goes in the direction of tools, which poses a priority for staff.

“The money really needs to go into the human aspect of those resources to make sure that there’s people on the ground early,” stated Gault, whose group represents between 40 and 1,000 firefighters relying on the time of yr.

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Final yr the province employed round 1,000 firefighters, 100 greater than typical Gault says, but additionally had to herald between 1,200 and 1,300 from throughout Canada and the world to assist.

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“It’s good to have the equipment that we need, and we should have done it years ago … But we still need to have people coming here and retaining them and keeping them for the depth of experience and knowledge.”

Gault says Alberta has had bother recruiting firefighters because of a wide range of elements, together with different provinces’ provides of pre-cancer protection and higher advantages.

“Our hope is just that the government would understand and respect that (trained firefighters) are needed here in Alberta, where they can protect Albertans as well,” he stated.

The province additionally doubled its contingency fund within the price range to $4 billion, up from $2 billion final yr and $1.5 billion in 2023. The province says the extra prices are supposed to cowl “unforeseen implications of increased economic uncertainty” akin to tariffs, and collective bargaining bills.

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In mid-February, Alberta Wildfire was cautiously optimistic in regards to the situations heading into this yr’s wildfire season in comparison with the earlier two seasons.

The 2023 season noticed a report 2.2 million hectares of land burned. Final yr’s season started in February and noticed firefighters battle greater than 1,150 wildfires that scorched 700,000 hectares, together with the devasting flames in Jasper.

Wildland fireplace professor Mike Flannigan says finally the severity of the wildfire season will rely on the day-to-day climate and that Could is historically the busiest season.

“That horrific fire season we had (in 2023) that survived last winter and now surviving this winter, especially in the north west corner, that’s where there’s a drought and there’s a bit of a drought all along western Alberta, and those areas are primed for an active fire season,” he stated.

In a written assertion, Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen stated the province is concentrated on three foremost areas together with wildfire prevention, mitigation and readiness to reply.

The province’s mitigation push contains managed burns, creating firebreaks and managing forest vegetation to reduce gas for fires, Loewen says.

“Fireguard projects are currently underway in the Bow Valley near Canmore, as well as Cypress Hills Provincial Park, Hinton, Whitecourt and Slave Lake,” the minister wrote.

Final yr, the province additionally put $3.4 million in the direction of 38 FireSmart initiatives via the Forest Useful resource Enchancment Affiliation of Alberta (FRIAA).

“I have every confidence in our wildfire teams and their ability to meet the challenges ahead,” Loewen wrote.

He additionally confused Albertans should do their half to uphold the province’s three pillars for wildfire preparedness.