Forests cover over 50 per cent of Alberta’s landscape, and communities across the province are nested within or near the forest. This is called the wildland-urban interface (WUI) – which is described as an area where human development meets or intermingles with the natural environment. Though beautiful, these communities have increased exposure to the danger of wildfire. The FRIAA FireSmart Program supports communities in carrying out activities aimed at reducing the impact of wildfire.

FRIAA FireSmart Program projects can include activities related to any of the seven disciplines that make up FireSmart:

  • Inter-agency cooperation (e.g. through the development of a local or regional FireSmart committee communities can coordinate and manage the implementation of their wildfire mitigation strategy);
  • Public education (e.g. elected officials, community planners, developers, government, industry, and residents have roles to increase understanding of the local risk from wildfire and the application of FireSmart principles);
  • Vegetation management (e.g. modification of wildland fuels (vegetation that can contribute to wildfire) for the purpose of mitigating the potential intensities and impact of wildfire through fuel breaks, thinning and pruning, vegetation removal/reduction and conversion to more fire-resistant species);
  • Legislation (e.g. legislation, bylaws, plans, policies and development standards contribute to building and maintaining FireSmart communities);
  • Development controls (e.g. encourage the use of wildfire resilience best practices in sustainable developments and home construction by homeowners to local business, during the design or building phases or while performing renovations);
  • Emergency planning (e.g., creation of wildfire prevention and mitigation specific plans and accounting for wildfire in existing emergency response and community preparedness. A complete FireSmart Community Plan includes three distinct documents: Hazard and Risk Assessment, Wildfire Preparedness Guide and a Wildfire Mitigation Strategy);
  • Cross-training (e.g. wildfires don’t respect jurisdictional boundaries, moving from wildland areas into communities, and from communities into wildland areas.  Ensure the collaborative response to unpredictable wildfires is efficient, safe, and organized by planning and training ahead of time with various different emergency response organizations);

Each activity funded through the FRIAA FireSmart Program aims to create resilient communities. Activities can range from modifying forest vegetation in the wildland-urban interface to educating residents about steps they should take on their own property to reduce the wildfire risk. Under planning, a wildfire preparedness guide (WPG) can increase the situational awareness of emergency responders, refer to the updated manual by Forestry and Parks, Government of Alberta, January 2020.

FRIAA FireSmart endeavours to offer funding opportunities twice a year, typically in the summer and winter, subject to funding availability. Funding opportunities are prioritized for Alberta communities and municipalities, First Nations, Metis Settlements and Locals and on occasion, other eligible organizations may be funded.

For more information on the FireSmart disciplines and principles, please visit the FireSmart Alberta website.

Link below to a sample of FRIAA funded projects:

FireSmart Wildfire Exposure Assessment – A planning tool for identifying values at risk and prioritizing mitigation effort. (Dr. Jen Beverly, September 2018)

State-of-Practice of Water Delivery Systems (Sprinklers) Used In The Wildland-Urban Interface– (Ray Ault and Chad Gardeski, FPInnovations, April 2019)