Six fire departments in Alberta will see a boost in funding to help with wildfire preparedness.
As wildfire season gets off to a blazing start, the provincial government announced funding of almost $7 million through the Wildland Urban Interface Program to help better protect communities at risk by quadrupling the number of specially trained wildfire teams in specific areas.
“Alberta’s government continues to make critical investments to strengthen the way emergencies are handled. We are effectively quadrupling the number of Wildland Urban Interface teams in Alberta to ensure the safety of Albertans’ businesses, neighbourhoods and critical infrastructure during wildfires," said Mike Ellis, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services.
Each new Wildland Urban Interface Team will receive $1.09 million over the next three years to help develop and expand the program’s training and operational capacity.
The local authorities receiving this funding are the towns of Strathmore, Hinton and Slave Lake, Lac La Biche County, SlaKee Tas Kee Now Tribal Council and Kananaskis Improvement District.
There are also two existing teams based out of Clearwater County and the Town of High Level.
“Firefighting teams like this can truly make the difference when it comes to protecting Alberta’s communities," said Todd Loewen, Minister of Forestry and Parks. "Having more Wildland Urban Interface teams improves our capabilities and adaptability when our wildland firefighting teams are fighting fires across Alberta.”
The Wildland Urban Interface Program targets zones where developments, such as farms and houses, border or mix with natural vegetation. These specific areas require very niche expertise and the program specializes in training firefighters with the right skills to battle blazes in these tricky areas.
This program is a partnership between the provincial government and local authority fire services and includes funding from Natural Resources Canada.
