Alberta adding new wildfire teams to protect communities at risk

The Alberta government is investing almost $7 million to create six new Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) teams to protect communities at risk from wildfires.

“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.

The WUI program targets zones where developments such as homes, farms or industrial sites border or mix with natural vegetation at risk from wildfire.

Fires that occur in these transitional areas between forests, grasslands and populated communities are often challenging and demand the expertise of both wildland and structural firefighters.

Wildland Urban Interface teams consist of firefighters who have specialized training and equipment needed to respond to wildfires that enter a community or where developed areas meet wildland areas.

This program is a partnership between the provincial government and local authority fire services and includes funding from Natural Resources Canada.

The province is responsible for coordination and funding, while local fire departments contribute personnel, firefighting equipment and resources.

The expansion of this program will enhance the overall deployment of specialized resources across the province and improve municipal fire service capacity through additional training and technical support.

Each new Wildland Urban Interface Team will receive $1.09 million over two to three years for personnel costs, administrative support, equipment, maintenance and travel costs to help develop and expand the program’s training and operational capacity.

The local authorities receiving funding are: