Some Alberta municipalities say the province has been slow to react to calls for more firefighting support and a long-term plan to better protect communities outside the Forest Protection Area (FPA).
This area, which covers about half the province, is considered the Alberta government’s jurisdiction, but communities such as Parkland County and parts of Brazeau and Yellowhead counties fall outside this zone.
All these communities were hit hard by wildfires in 2023 and, at some point, struggled to get help from the province.
“Early on in our fire, we phoned the province and said, ‘This is out of control, we need help.’ We asked for 100 firefighters, I believe we got 15,” Brazeau County councillor Kara Westerlund told CTV News Edmonton.
“A couple hours later, it was really getting out of control. We asked for air support and were told ‘no’ because it was too busy fighting a fire a …