Alberta Wildfire says dry and windy conditions across the province have prompted the agency to issue additional fire advisories.
New fire advisories went into effect in the High Level, Peace River, Grande Prairie, Whitecourt and Lac La Biche forest areas Thursday.
That’s in additional to at least 25 other advisories that were already in place, some since last spring.
Alberta Wildfire said a “fire advisory is an indication the fire danger rating has increased.” It is different from a fire restriction or fire ban.
Under an advisory, existing fire permits may be suspended or cancelled and no new permits will be issued. Safe campfires are allowed in campgrounds and backcountry or random camping areas, according to the agency.
“Our objective is to prevent human-caused wildfires,” said Josee St-Onge, a provincial information Officer with Alberta Wildfire. “Fire advisories also signal to Albertans that current conditions are conducive to new wildfires and that the fire danger is increasing.
“We do hope that the increased awareness will remind Albertans to be cautious if they are spending time in forested areas.”
The agency said there are no fire bans or restrictions in place in the Forest Protection Area at this time.
The forest protection area encompasses most of northern Alberta’s Boreal forest, as well as the western foothills and mountains outside the national parks — the FPA represents the geographic areas concerned with the prevention and control of damage to forests from fire, insects, disease and other harmful agents.
On Tuesday, the province declared the start of the 2024 wildfire season — 10 days earlier than usual, citing the low snowpack and dry weather in the forecast as the main factors.
Alberta Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen said the province hopes to hire an additional 100 wildland firefighters, which he hopes will be ready for the field by May 15.
That’s in addition to the 900 firefighters the province said would be in place by April 15.
The Alberta Fire Chiefs Association issued a statement Thursday raising concern about the province’s funding and questioning whether the firefighters will be trained in time.
“Minister Loewen’s announcement of 900 wildfire firefighters by April 15th is a step in the right direction; however, we are apprehensive that this may not suffice or be soon enough,” the statement said.
“In the event of a major fire threatening a community outside of the forested protected area, it leaves it up to the municipalities solely seek out and carry the financial burden of additional contractors, or pulling resources from neighboring municipalities, which jeopardizes the assisting community’s ability to be ready for their own emergency events.”
The Alberta Fire Chiefs Association said they are waiting until the provincial budget is presented to make further comments but did add, “While we share the Minister’s aspirations, the absence of specific financial commitments in the Minister’s statement raises concerns about the adequacy of funding for these essential wildfire preparedness and response initiatives.”
“We’re going to be more proactive (on fire bans) than we were last year. I think we’re going to be more prepared than we were last year,” Loewen said, adding that fire bans are likely to follow the advisories soon.
The extra staffing and permit requirement comes after last year’s record-setting wildfire season, which saw 22,000 square kilometres burned. That’s about 10 times the five-year average.
There are currently 55 active wildfires in the province, 18 of which are new this year, according to the Alberta government website.
— with files from Emily Mertz, Global News and The Canadian Press