Alberta’s Minister of Forestry and Parks says the province is well prepared for this wildfire season.
Todd Loewen says even though the fire season started early, crews were still busy in the winter dealing with “holdover fires” from last season.
“That’s been a concern. We haven’t had as much snow as we normally would have an we’re hoping to have some more snow yet before spring to maybe help with some of those holdover fires so we’re still working on them. Working into this next year, we decided to start the fire season 10 days earlier. We’re having our crews prepared two weeks earlier this year too. Last year was unprecedented as far as many things.”
Loewen says the early start for the season will have fire crews better prepared for any fires that come up early in the spring.
He also says more funding is being provided in the provincial budget for getting more technology to help with firefighting efforts.
“This past year we had one night vision helicopter, so this year we want to add two more night vision helicopters. What happens with the night vision helicopters, it allows us to work at night when the fires are overall more subdued because the temperatures drops and the humidity rises and that gives an opportunity to fight the fire when it’s at its smallest rather than waiting until midday when the fire’s at its peak.”
There’s also the usage of drones with thermal imaging that can map out fires during the night which Loewen says can help firefighters with tackling blazes.
You can listen to the full interview below.
– Kyle Moore, Trending 55 Newsroom
