With about two weeks of winter, the Alberta forest fire season – and funding for fire preparation – have already started.
The province’s forest fire season officially begins on March 1 and takes place until October 31. According to provincial numbers, Alberta launched the season with 10 assets forest fireAgainst 60 at the same time last year.
This week’s Alberta budget had $ 7.5 billion allocated over three years to support municipal infrastructure, which included $ 47 million for forest fire management for communities. Breaking down, it includes $ 22 million for forest fire improvements, $ 19 million for an installation upgrading program and $ 6 million for management preparation.
The 2025 budget also included $ 160 million in basic funding for staff, equipment, training and contracts.
Vice-president of Alberta Union of Provincial Employey (AUPE), James Gault, said that most of the $ 160 million go to equipment, which poses a concern for workers.
“Money must really go into the human aspect of these resources to ensure that there are people on the ground early,” said Gault, whose organization represents between 40 and 1,000 firefighters depending on the time of the year.
Last year, the province hired around 1,000 firefighters, 100 more than Gault, but had to bring between 1,200 and 1,300 from Canada and the world to help.
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“It is good to have the equipment we need, and we should have done it years ago … But we still have to come here and keep them and keep them for the depth of experience and knowledge.”
Gault says that Alberta has struggled to recruit firefighters due to various factors, including offers from other provinces of Pré-Cancer coverage and better advantages.
“Our hope is just that the government would understand and respect that (trained firefighters) are necessary here in Alberta, where they can also protect the Albertans,” he said.
The province also doubled its emergency fund in the budget at $ 4 billion, compared to $ 2 billion last year and $ 1.5 billion in 2023. The province claims that additional costs are intended to cover “the unforeseen implications of increased economic uncertainty” such as collective rates and expenses.
In mid-February, the Alberta forest was carefully optimistic about the conditions before the forest fire season this year compared to the previous two seasons.
The 2023 season had a record of 2.2 million hectares of burned land. The season of last year started in February and saw firefighters fight more than 1,150 forest fires that burned 700,000 hectares, including the devastating flames of Jasper.
Wildland Fire professor Mike Flannigan, says that in the end, the severity of the forest fire season will depend on the daily weather and that this is traditionally the busiest season.
“This horrible fire season that we had (in 2023) which survived last winter and now surviving this winter, especially in the northwest corner, this is where there is a drought and there is a little drought throughout the west of Alberta, and these areas are started for an active fire season,” he said.
In a written statement, the Minister of Forests and Parks, Todd Loewen, said that the province is focused on three main areas, including forest fire prevention, attenuation and preparation to react.
The province’s attenuation thrust includes controlled burns, the creation of fire breakage and the management of forest vegetation to minimize fuel of fires, known as Loewen.
“Fireguard projects are currently underway in the Bow Valley near Canmore, as well as the Cypress Hills provincial park, Hinton, Whitecourt and Slave Lake,” the Minister wrote.
Last year, the province also put $ 3.4 million at 38 Firesmart projects through the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta (Friaa).
“I have all confidence in our forest teams and their ability to take up the challenges to come,” wrote Loewen.
He also pointed out that the Albertans must do their part to maintain the three pillars of the province for the preparation of forest fires.
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