Canada has one of the world’s largest land masses and extensive forests exposed to the risk of fire; as such, aerial wildfire management in Canada has its distinct challenges. We reached out to officials of several Canadian provinces for an overview of wildfire management strategies in light of an increased incidence of fires, the assets and resources used for aerial firefighting, and how resilience is being embedded in wildfire management activities.

Increasing number of fires

To cope with the ever-increasing number of forest fires and length of fire seasons predicted by experts, the Canadian province of Quebec is increasing fire awareness campaigns and prevention funding, informing the public about the dangers of forest fires and steps to be taken to prevent them. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests of the Government of Quebec explained: “It should be noted that almost 80% of forest fires are caused by human activities. Additional funding has recently been allocated to the [Quebec-based forest fire protection nonprofit] Société de Protection des Forêts Contre le Feu (SOPFEU) to increase prevention activities. Additional efforts are focused on strengthening the response to forest fires by increasing the SOPFEU budget and enabling the hiring of more personnel, recording an increase of 32% in two years. This autumn and winter, additional budget measures of CA$45 million have been announced to enable the SOPFEU to acquire additional control equipment and increase the number of forest firefighters.”

According to a spokesperson for the Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services (AFFES) branch of Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF), each fire season in Ontario is highly variable, as it has been in the past. “Actual weather trends that develop throughout the fire season, the type of fuel on the landscape in which the fire is burning, and the proximity and impacts to communities are factors that [contribute to] the fire season. Fire conditions can evolve rapidly in a short time and can show significant variations from year to year.

“For this fire season, over 600 fire crew staff have been recruited, the equivalent of about 142 fire crews. In previous years, we have also had assistance from up to 30 individuals from Indigenous communities from across the near and far north as community fire officers (CFOs) to help liaise with leadership, coordinate fire response, promote safety, awareness, prevention, and education in their respective communities.”

Ontario’s Wildland Fire Management Strategy is a tool used to direct resources to assess each wildland fire in the province. “The ministry, following the assessment, allocates the necessary resources to fight forest fires that are considered an immediate threat to communities or infrastructures so as to minimize damage and inconvenience,” continued the spokesperson. “Wildland fires that are not threatening communities are managed effectively to limit negative impacts, enable the beneficial ecological role of fire, and manage costs. Thanks to this operational and response system, resources – such as fire crews, aircraft, support personnel, and equipment – can be positioned and moved throughout the province as needed to ensure a timely and efficient response to forest fires. FireRangers are assigned a color-coded alert system to determine their work status for the day.”

To share personnel and other resources during periods of intense wildfire activity, Ontario participates in a mutual aid resource-sharing agreement with provincial, territorial, and federal partners. “At a national level, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) operates to mediate the movement of personnel and equipment resources when necessary,” explained the spokesperson for the AFFES branch of Ontario’s MNRF. “CIFFC and its member agencies have additional resource-sharing agreements with the USA, Australia, Mexico, and New Zealand. For example, a province or country that is seeing increased fire activity can place requests to CIFFC for all types of resources to assist with their firefighting efforts.”

Tactics and priorities change to focus on indirect attack to build fuel breaks to limit fire spread, as well as the protection of the public, communities, and critical infrastructure

As was the case in the summer of 2023, when major events strike, mutual aid agreements are signed with different countries to obtain assistance, affirmed the spokesperson for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests of the Government of Quebec. “These agreements maximize the use of resources as intense fire seasons are typically localized to defined regions and differ from region to region (e.g. northern versus southern hemisphere),” they said.

There are cases of wildland fire that are more difficult to contain due to the extreme behavior of the fire, or cases where they are too large to be effectively controlled, despite wildland firefighting personnel carrying out their role with the best efforts, according to the spokesperson for the AFFES branch of Ontario’s MNRF. “As such, tactics and priorities change to focus on indirect attack to build fuel breaks to limit fire spread, as well as the protection of the public, communities, and critical infrastructure,” they said.

Assets and resources for aerial firefighting

The assets and resources used in Canada for aerial firefighting revolve around composite aircraft fleets. The airtankers deployed by the Government of Quebec fly on average 2,000 hours and shed approximately 12,000 water drops during operations. “Quebec’s abundant waters make tanker aircraft a particularly effective combat tool,” said the spokesperson for the Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests.

Quebec’s abundant waters make tanker aircraft a particularly effective combat tool

To maintain its fleet of aircraft, Ontario’s MNRF is making capital investments and employs numerous qualified and trained professionals who maintain the fleet. “The winter months, being outside of fire season, are considered the aircraft’s maintenance season, as aircraft are highly operational during the summer months,” said the AFFES spokesperson. “During this time, the Ministry is working to complete all maintenance requirements so that the aircraft can be back online for the summer months. During a fire season, we can supplement our air fleet by hiring commercial aircraft using long-term contracts and short-term aircraft hires. Additionally, we participate in mutual aid partnership agreements with provincial, federal, and international partners, thus enabling the sharing of personnel, equipment, and aircraft between agencies during periods of escalated wildland
fire activity.”

Ontario’s MNRF has been assessing its current and future aviation needs to determine the access to the right type of aircraft, any technological improvement needed for those aircraft, and the right quantity of aircraft to meet future demand. “Furthermore, along with remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) technology, aerial fire suppression tools and technology are also evolving,” continued the spokesperson. “The MNRF is currently advancing RPAS technology and equipment to address current needs and challenges, and is exploring partnership opportunities to further invest in aerial fire research and suppression, all in anticipation of the coming seasons of fires.”

In the province of Alberta, the aerial firefighting fleet of 2024 includes three aircraft dedicated to night vision operations, which is a new technology, said Shawn Lagasse, Provincial Airtanker Program Supervisor at the Wildfire Management Branch of Alberta Forestry and Parks.

Embedding resilience

Fire seasons are getting more severe and longer, and we are reacting, we are increasing our fleet, and we are bringing on more personnel so that we can hit the ground running when the fire season comes

The CIFFC and the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers’ Wildland Fire Management Working Group focus on national coordination and collaboration of strategic wildland fire initiatives, explained the spokesperson for the AFFES branch of Ontario’s MNRF. “These two bodies have representatives from provinces, territories and the federal government (Natural Resources Canada) where we work together to address wildland fire management issues of national significance,” they said. “Ontario also works with Natural Resources Canada on other projects such as fire science research, or projects such as WildFireSat.”

Last year’s was the most catastrophic fire season Alberta has ever recorded, in response to which the province is increasing its aircraft fleet with extra-long-term contracts, affirmed Lagasse. “With the new airtanker contracts, we increased the number of days that we have an aircraft on contract by 31 days. So basically, the two new contracts are a month longer in duration, and we always have the option to start contracts earlier and to extend them late,” he said. “In addition, efforts are committed to practicing and training in order to get the personnel ready. Fire seasons are getting more severe and longer, and we are reacting, we are increasing our fleet, and we are bringing on more personnel so that we can hit the ground running when the fire season comes.”