Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen says Alberta is “well prepared” for the 2025 wildfire season, which began on March 1.
Loewen outlined the province’s preparation and response for the wildfire season during a Tuesday (March 4) news conference.
“Our government has been hard at work since the end of the 2024 wildfire season to make sure we are prepared for what's ahead,” he said.
The province has experienced multiple serious wildfires in recent years, including one that destroyed nearly a third of the Jasper townsite last year.
“Alberta has faced unprecedented wildfire challenges over the last two years, and as the province enters the 2025 wildfire season, our government is focused on a three-pronged approach to tackle the threat of catastrophic wildfires: prevention, mitigation and readiness to respond,” Loewen said.
Budget 2025 will prioritize wildfire mitigation with “a new historic high” of $160 million in base funding for wildfire personnel, equipment, training and contracts for aircraft, an additional night-vision-equipped helicopter and heavy equipment.
“Alberta is home to some of the best firefighting personnel in the world, and our teams are well trained, well equipped and ready to respond to any wildfire incidents,” Loewen said. “Through this renewed investment, we are ensuring that we can immobilize significant resources quickly and effectively when needed.”
In addition, Loewen noted there had only been six holdover fires on Jan. 1 compared to 64 holdover fires the year before.
“We're going into this season in substantially better shape than we were last year,” he said.
Budget 2025 would allocate an additional $15 million over three years to continue supporting wildfire mitigation projects being administered by the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta (FRIAA).
This would be in addition to ongoing fireguard projects across the province, including in the Bow Valley near Canmore, as well as Cypress Hills Provincial Park, Hinton, Whitecourt and Slave Lake.
FRIAA manager Todd Nash encouraged communities at risk of wildfire to participate in the Community Fireguard and FireSmart programs by developing plans and proposals to access funding.
“Wildfires pose a significant risk to Alberta’s communities, and it’s great to see the province is making wildfire management a priority,” Nash said in a statement.
The province is also allocating $10.8 million to ensure Albertans can easily access FireSmart resources.
Loewen also reported that firefighter recruitment was going well and assured the province had the numbers it needed right now.
“Recruitment has been going well, and we want to make sure that we keep our experienced firefighters as much as we can, and we make sure they know that they have a job with us when the season is over,” he said.
The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) challenged this claim in a follow-up press release, saying the government was failing to recruit and retain wildland firefighters.
“It seems that Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen is satisfied that we won’t be fully crewed and trained until mid-May, well into peak fire season,” said AUPE vice president James Gault in the release. “We heard the same reassurances in 2024, but we later learned that crews weren’t ready when we needed them. That’s the same story we heard today.”
The AUPE noted Alberta was losing firefighters to other jurisdictions that offer better pay, longer contracts and better protection from cancer. Gault noted Ontario offered a $10,000 signing bonus.
“Minister Loewen is focused on hiring a majority of students for one or two years and letting them move on to other jurisdictions,” he added. “He sees no need to do anything to keep experienced firefighters, despite the devastation we have seen to our communities, including Jasper and Fort McMurray.”
Last year, the province saw a significant decrease in human-caused wildfires with 282 wildfires caused by residential and recreational fires, down from 385 in 2020, 395 in 2021, 399 in 2022 and 303 in 2023.
Loewen said the provincial government would build on this progress by renewing its commitment to public awareness and education campaigns on safe practices while also enforcing fire bans when necessary.
“It is essential that every Albertan understands that wildfire prevention is a shared responsibility,” he added. “Every action counts in protecting our communities and our natural resources.”
So far in 2025, there have been 21 wildfires and 78 hectares burned compared to the same time last year when there were 34 wildfires and 306 hectares already burned.
