As Alberta heads into wildfire season, many areas of the province are experiencing heightened wildfire risk.
Budget 2024 will invest an additional $151 million over the next three years for wildfire preparedness, prevention, response and mitigation. This additional funding will enhance wildland firefighting capacity with increased wildfire resources such as personnel, aircraft, drones, artificial intelligence (AI) and night-vision technology.
Aerial operations are integral to firefighting efforts and increased funding will enable the province to add two additional long-term helicopter contracts, two new air tanker contracts and additional drones for aerial wildfire surveillance. Budget 2024 will also support the renewal of 130 helicopter contracts by Apr. 1.
“We live in a time where we have access to incredible technologies and last year, we recognized some great successes from various firefighting technology pilot programs. I can say with confidence the additional night-vision equipped helicopters and drones will make a big difference in our wildfire mitigation and response efforts this year,” says Alberta Wildfire Executive Director Bernie Schmitte.
Alberta Wildfire will continue to explore, research and test new developments in wildfire prevention, mitigation, smoke detection and suppression to assess how innovative technologies can support a rapid response and help extinguish wildfires. Wildfire management best practices are always evolving.
For future wildfire seasons, the province is exploring options to potentially expand Alberta’s air tanker fleet and pilot more emerging firefighting technologies.