Wildfire season has begun: permits now required
Alberta’s wildfire season runs March 1 to October 31 and with it, comes a few upgrades.
This includes updated digital tools to automated weather stations to drone technology, the province stated in a press release.
This season Alberta Wildfire will focus on the following:
- Exploring remote camera, drone and satellite technologies that will help modernize wildfire detection and data collection
- Using modern remote automated weather stations that give real-time or hourly data instead of once or twice per day
- They will continue to evaluate the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of new firefighting tools and practices
- Research the best tree and vegetation management practices that will help people FireSmart their communities and build a resilience to wildfires.
The wildfire hazard is expected to be at its highest in the spring months, due to fuels like trees and grass having extremely low moisture content after the snow melts off.
Permits are now required for residential, industrial or agricultural debris burning. Visit albertafirebans.ca for more information.
To report a wildfire call 310-FIRE (310-3473).
Last season was deemed to be one of the slowest years Alberta had seen in decades, when it comes to both number of wildfires and area burned. There were 704 wildfires that burnt roughly 8,068 acres. 80 per cent of those wildfires were human-caused.