The federal government “will be there” to help Alberta fight roughly 100 wildfires currently blazing in the province, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says.
Ottawa’s commitment comes after the provincial government formally submitted a request for assistance, which Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair confirmed as receiving Monday afternoon.
Ottawa is also working with the Canadian Red Cross to set up a matching fund to help Albertans impacted by the blazes, Trudeau said.
“We will be there to help,” he said after speaking with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith earlier in the day.
“We talked a lot about the different ways the federal government can help, and we will be working to make sure that we’re supporting Albertans right across the province as necessary, as we always do. The federal government is there to be there for people, and we will continue to do that in Alberta and elsewhere where people are affected by extreme weather events.”
Around 100 wildfires continued to burn in Alberta on Monday, with thousands forced to flee from their homes.
More than 40 structures, mostly homes, have been lost on the Little Red River Cree Nation, which includes three communities in northern Alberta. In Fox Lake, about 550 kilometres north of Edmonton, the province said a 4,400-hectare wildfire destroyed 20 homes, an RCMP detachment, a store and the community’s water treatment plant.
Cooler temperatures and a bit of rain over the next few days are expected to deliver some relief for firefighters, but provincial officials warned the reprieve isn’t expected to last long, and lightning is sparking additional blazes.
A provincial state of emergency was declared Saturday.
A readout of Trudeau and Smith’s conversation released by the Prime Minister’s Office said work is underway to determine how the federal government can meet the needs outlined in Alberta’s assistance request.
“The leaders agreed to stay in close contact as the situation in Alberta evolves,” the readout said.
Smith told reporters at a press conference Monday afternoon she had been assured by Trudeau the Canadian military would be deployed to assist “if necessary.”
In addition to firefighting resources, Alberta Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis added the province has requested military assistance to protect evacuated communities from “looting and disorder.”
The RCMP confirmed on Saturday they arrested four people in Drayton Valley for allegedly breaking into a gas station while the town was under an evacuation order.
Ellis indicated he has only heard that one RCMP report so far, but added it was important to provide a “visible presence” to indicate “a measure of public safety” in affected areas.
Ellis also clarified that Blair told him the Canadian Forces’ firefighting capabilities are “limited.”
But Smith also said she had been told 300 members of the Edmonton-based Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry are trained in firefighting and ready to deploy as needed.
“That will help, since they are close to home, and they will also be putting out a call to their reservists who also have firefighting training,” she said.
“So we may be able to have some local help faster than we expected, so that’s some good news to have as well.”
Smith said an assessment was underway into how and where the military could best be utilized, and shared assurances she said she received from Trudeau that those troops would be deployed once that assessment is completed.
Blair said Alberta needs additional firefighters, heavy equipment for infrastructure, assistance for airlifts and additional policing.
“We have a rather robust, well-established program of requests for assistance and we now have that document from the province, but the work on that began a number of days ago,” he said.
“Many of those resources have been mobilized over the past few days. We believe we’ll be able to act on the request from the province as quickly as possible, but we know many of the organizations and federal departments responsible for delivering those resources have been getting ready for the past few days.”
Ellis said the province’s requests to Ottawa also include water purification resources and financial assistance.
“I’ve recently spoken to Minister Blair and he is beginning to action the items on the list that we have provided them,” Ellis said.
So far this year, wildfires have burned about 390,000 hectares across the province.
— with files from The Canadian Press