Emergency management NGOs prepare for Canada’s wildfire season

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A program launched during the pandemic to support non-governmental organizations involved in large-scale emergencies will take on an elevated role during this year’s wildfire season, with initial efforts focused on British Columbia and the Northwest Territories, Canada’s Emergency Preparedness Minister said Thursday.

Harjit Sajjan provided details of the humanitarian work-force program in Ottawa alongside other federal ministers at a news conference on the 2024 wildfire season. Last year’s fire season was Canada’s worst on record, burning 18.5 million hectares and forcing some 230,000 people from their homes.

The humanitarian work-force program started in 2021 with a focus on non-governmental organizations involved in emergency management – for example, by temporarily deploying nurses to assist with vaccinations. In anticipation of a challenging wildfire season this year, the program has evolved to support NGOs in making sure there are supplies in high-risk areas, and convening mission-ready teams of volunteers, Mr. Sajjan said.

The Salvation Army will move assets and supplies, such as non-perishable foods and potable water, in five high-risk areas in B.C. – Comox, Abbotsford, Prince George, Kelowna and Cranbrook – as well as Yellowknife and Whitehorse, to allow for faster responses when needed.

The Search and Rescue Volunteer Association of Canada will set up rosters of its members into “mission-ready” groups of up to 200 that can be deployed for up to three weeks at a time with 72 hours’ notice.

St. John Ambulance, which has about 10,000 front-line volunteers, and the Canadian Red Cross, which has about 5,000, are working to permanently position some volunteers on the ground in Yellowknife and Whitehorse. Team Rubicon, a veteran-led humanitarian organization, has also recently joined the program, Mr. Sajjan said.

In 2023, Ottawa announced $82-million over three years for the program.

Mr. Sajjan said the initiative is about better communication and co-ordination across organizations.

“What we’re also doing is working to make sure all the agreements are in place beforehand, so that when there’s an emergency, there is no delay in responding,” he said.

The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre reported around 90 fires burning as of noon on Thursday, including 12 classified as being out of control. Julienne Morissette, director of wildland fire research at Natural Resources Canada, said there were currently “no fires of priority on the landscape nationally.”

“Although the current overall conditions are at normal levels for this time of year, the risk of damaging wildfires remains significant driven by anticipated warm temperatures and drought,” she said.

Areas of concern include the B.C. Interior and northeastern B.C., which have high combustible material; Northern Alberta, where several small uncontrolled fires are burning; and southern Northwest Territories, now entering a drier period post-thaw, Mr. Sajjan said.

B.C. and Alberta held separate wildfire outlook updates on Thursday. In B.C., Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma cautioned that there could be an increase in wildfire activity with temperatures expected to reach 30 degrees in some regions this weekend. Forests Minister Bruce Ralston said the government is paying particular attention to the Fort Nelson area, where weather models show a dry, cold front sweeping through Friday evening that could cause “blustery” conditions.

BC Wildfire Service has dispatched an incident-management team to establish a command centre in the region, Mr. Ralston said. Helicopters, air tankers, unit crews and initial attack crews are also being brought in to bolster existing regional resources.

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As of Thursday, snowpack levels in B.C. were at 66 per cent, said Nathan Cullen, Minister of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship.

“B.C. continues to get less rain and snow than usual, and that’s having a lasting impact on water levels right across the province,” he said. “We experienced severe drought last year and remain at high risk going into this season.”

In Alberta, officials said cooler temperatures and precipitation in much of the province this week have helped mitigate the looming threat of wildfires, but warned rising temperatures and drier conditions could change that.

“With temperatures rising rapidly over the next couple of days, we’re about to see a spike in wildfire danger in those areas of the province that haven’t had as much rain,” Christie Tucker, the information unit manager for Alberta Wildfire, said during the press conference.

So far, wildfires have burned 9,197 hectares in the province, which Ms. Tucker emphasized is significantly less than the more than 260,000 hectares burned by this time last year.

Northern parts of the province, however, remain at higher risk, with many regions under fire restrictions.