A program with more than 60 firefighters trained to rappel into wildfires has been scrapped following the provincial budget, which has raised concerns as officials look forward to next year's wildfire season.

Alberta Wildfire Management says most of the 106 firefighters will be heading to battle the Red Deer Creek fire at the Alberta-B.C. border, which is estimated to be 35,000 hectares in size and zero per cent contained.

Smoke from forest fires burning in the Northwest Territories is currently impacting air quality in some parts of the province, according to Alberta Health Services (AHS).