The size of the fires are large, and when paired with a lack of moisture, the amount of dry fuel, the weather and the wind, conditions aren’t working in the favour of firefighters, he said.
“We definitely need more firefighters, for sure. I mean, if you look at these large-scale incidences, it seems that we’re always having to call in military, we’re having to call in overseas,” Buchanan said. “I don’t think that’s going to be a sustainable thing, going into the future.”
Still, the minister said Ottawa isn’t yet running short of firefighting resources, though in response to a reporter’s question did say the wildfires could end up testing the limits.
When the unprecedented becomes precedent
During challenging wildfire seasons, Alberta can access additional firefighting resources from other jurisdictions by utilizing resource sharing agreements, many of which are allocated through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC).
This year, the province welcomed 1,836 firefighters from British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Yukon, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. An additional 215 firefighters from South Africa were scheduled to arrive this weekend.
“In extreme circumstances, some resources deployed through [CIFFC]may be cancelled, diverted or demobilized early,” wrote Derrick Forsythe, a spokesperson with Alberta Wildfire.
“However, Alberta has independent resource sharing agreements in place such as the Northwest Compact and an agreement with Jalisco, Mexico, that can be used to request additional help when needed.”
“I’ve been hearing that so frequently in the last 10 years. It’s like the precedent is unprecedented. We should be expecting unprecedented conditions.”
That means that officials can’t rely on their past experiences or data when it comes to wildfires, Beverly said, and everyone must approach the challenge in a different way.
“It’s shifting from what has been, I think, a focus on trying to predict and accepting that we can’t do that very well,” Beverly said, adding a potential area of focus could include assessing and mapping fuel hazards.
For Buchanan, the Strathcona County firefighter, the situation across the province has led to increasing interest in more people turning to the ESA to receive firefighting training. But the situation calls for more action now, he said.
“The more local boots on the ground we can get trained here means we’ll be much more effective in the long run,” he said.
“If these are the sort of spring seasons that we’re going to see — dry, heavy fuel loads, increased wildfire risks — we’re going to need to have those trained first responders ready to go, rather than having to rely on international support.
“That’s incredible, people coming in. But I just don’t think that’s a system that’s going to work, long-term.”
The CIFFC lists five levels of preparedness, which refer to the wildland fire situation and the availability of firefighting resources in Canada. Level 1 is the lowest risk and Level 5 the highest. As of Friday, Alberta was listed as Level 5.
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