Alberta's wildfire season begins, reminder to be emergency ready
It's hard to believe with the abundance of snow still covering the ground, but wildfire season in Alberta begins on Wednesday.
The season runs from March 1 to Oct. 31 each year, with a peak in wildfire danger typically happening in May.
Anastasia Drummond, a wildfire information officer for the Calgary Forest Area, says that's because when the snow is gone, there's an abundance of dry fuel ahead of the spring green up.
"Then, throughout the summer, the taps tend to turn off. It just gets drier and drier as the summer moves on," she said in an interview on The Homestretch.
"So we can see extreme wildfire events through August, September, even into October. And so that's why we have the season running so long."
As the season begins, permits will now be needed for any sort of burning — excluding campfires — so wildfire crews can monitor smoke in the air.
Firefighters are also finishing up training, equipment is being moved into place and facilities are beginning to open ahead of the season's peak, Drummond said.
The province is also trying to ensure residents are prepared for the start of the season. It's issuing an emergency alert throughout the province Wednesday at 1:55 p.m.
"While test alerts are issued nationwide twice a year, in May and November, this year's emergency alert in Alberta is being done now to coincide with the official start of wildfire season," said Mike Ellis, minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services, in a statement Monday.
"Tests help us fix any system issues to ensure alerts work when we need them. Tests also provide a valuable opportunity for Albertans to consider their own readiness to respond to an unexpected event like a wildfire."
A helicopter dumps water on a wildfire in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park on Oct. 13, 2022. (Alberta Wildfire)
The alert will be distributed via television, radio, websites, social media, compatible cellphones and through the Alberta Emergency Alert app.
The province is encouraging residents to download the app as well as visit alberta.ca/BePrepared for resources to prepare for an emergency.
Wildfire risks
Drummond said human-caused fires are one of their biggest problems, making up about 60 per cent of all wildfires across the province.
"It's typically the recreation-related wildfires that cause us the most concern," she said.
"That would, of course, be improperly extinguished or abandoned campfires, but we're also seeing this emerging trend of wildfires being caused by fireworks and exploding targets."
It's important to ensure everything is properly extinguished, she said, as even a small wildfire can cause a large impact.
The weather will also play a large role in the severity of the wildfire season.
Drummond said the recent dumps of snow are a help, but more late season snow and a good amount of spring rainfall will make all the difference.
"That's really going to determine what kind of hazard we see going into the spring."
Thumbnail image: A 2021 fire covered an area of about 40 hectares in the Edson Forest Area. (Mae Anderson/CBC). This article was written for the CBC by Taylor Simmons.
