Nearly $ 7 million in provincial and federal expenditure will create six urban forest crew teams, Alberta Minister of Public Security announced on Friday.
Speaking in Strathmore, Mike Ellis told a press conference that having six other teams means that Alberta will have up to eight specialized teams that can respond to fires threatening communities.
“We have witnessed the immense destruction that forest fires can cause at home and in other parts of the world,” said Ellis.
“This is why we focus on the creation of more competent, specialized and ready to deploy teams that can work to guarantee that communities, businesses and critical infrastructures are protected in the event of forest fire.”
He said the teams will be based in municipal fire services and will include firefighters both in the formation of structural and forests.
The teams must be posted in Hinton, Slave Lake, Strathmore, Kananaskis Village and Lac La Biche County. One will be within the reach of the Kee Tas Tas Kee Now Tribal Council, he said.
Ellis said the locations have been strategically chosen, so Alberta is better prepared to react when forest fires threaten developed communities.
Get national news
For news that has an impact on Canada and worldwide, register for the safeguarding of news alerts that are delivered to you directly when they occur.
The city of Slave Lake has lost more than 500 houses and businesses, including its town hall, library and two churches, when a forest fire swept in 2011.
“There is always the unknown threat of the moment when a fire can occur or not,” said Ellis.
“This is preparation, and that’s precisely what we are doing here.”
Strugeon David Sturgeon David Sturgeon’s firefighters said that after funding, his department would hire four new firefighters to work in the team.
He said the department had several firefighters formed as necessary and that they have been deployed to fight forest fires in recent years.
“We are ready to leave,” Sturgeon told journalists.
A government press release said each of the six communities will receive just over a million dollars over the next two to three years to cover costs. Ellis said that he hoped that funding would be renewed.
“The plan is to have (the teams to be) permanent), of course,” said Ellis, adding that it was optimistic that the federal government would intensify again when this funding would be exhausted.
The mayor of Strathmore, Pat Fule, said that the new team was a appreciated addition. While fires are reproduced more and more than each year.
On Friday, Alberta had two forest fires considered beyond control. Leading or developed areas or developed municipalities.
Earlier this month, a forest fire led to an evacuation order for the village of Boyle, about 145 kilometers north of Edmonton. The order, affecting around 800 people, was lifted after two days and no house or business was destroyed.
Another fire in Sturgeon County, now considered under control, forced dozens of people to flee and destroy three houses.
& Copy 2025 the Canadian press