On December 7, 2023, Minister Loewen, Minister of Forestry and Parks, announced the Province’s $5 million contribution towards providing municipalities with financial assistance to construct fireguards in high-risk communities across the province and integrating livestock grazing as a guard maintenance tactic and economic opportunity. The aim is to create safer communities to mitigate the repercussions of wildfires and foster wildfire resilience throughout the province.

On April 29, 2024, Minister Loewen announced an additional $14 million for the Community Fireguard Program.

The purpose of the program is to support the Provincial FireSmart Program initiative by funding the construction of community fireguards that provide for enhanced public safety and improved protection of at-risk communities.

Applications may be submitted by municipalities; Métis Settlements, Co-operatives, Enterprise or Community Locals; and Alberta First Nations. Prioritized projects will be based on community risk level, designed for technical effectiveness and project readiness. Proposed projects may permit livestock grazing as a means of ongoing and longer-term vegetation management.

Two Request for Proposals have been announced for “Phase 1: Planning” project funding requests (in March and August of 2024). The second round of proposal submissions are being evaluated and grant funding awards are pending available funding.

One Request for Proposals has been announced for “Phase 2: Construction” project funding (in August of 2024). Several priority projects that were ready to begin field operations in the fall of 2024 have been approved for funding. With the additional funding recently received by FRIAA, more projects will be able to receive grant funding. Stay tuned for updates.