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Part of Alberta Wildfire

FireSmart

FireSmart teaches residents and stakeholders how to mitigate the risks and impacts of fires that affect communities and infrastructure.

Call 310-FIRE (3473) to report a wildfire in a forested area.

Overview

Preparing for the threat of wildfire is a shared responsibility.

FireSmartTM is a framework designed to mitigate the risk of and educate residents and stakeholders regarding the potential for large uncontrollable wildfires near communities and critical infrastructure.

Community members, community leaders, industry and all levels of government have a responsibility to lessen the effects of wildfire. FireSmart is the implementation of both prevention and mitigation measures to reduce wildfire threat to Albertans and their communities while balancing the benefits of wildfire on the landscape.

In Alberta, we bundle FireSmart into 3 planning scales: landscape, community and the wildland-urban interface. Industry is another critical component of the provincial FireSmart program and is an important consideration at all 3 FireSmart planning scales.

Visit FireSmart Alberta to learn more about the wildland-urban interface and how you can protect your home, neighbourhood or community from wildfire. 

Landscape

Fire plays a crucial role in the dynamics of fire-dependent ecosystems. It is important to consider the integration of fire and forest management. Integration of fire and sustainable forest management plays an essential role in the design of FireSmart landscapes. Strategic landscape level disturbances provide numerous ecological and wildfire management objectives.

The Government of Alberta, forest companies, industrial operators and other stakeholders all play a vital role at this scale, in collaboration with community and residents.

Industry

  • Industrial Wildfire Control Plan (IWCP)

    The Industrial Wildfire Control Plan (IWCP) is a mandatory requirement under the Forest and Prairie Protection Act. IWCPs are required from all companies operating within one kilometre of public land from March 1 to November 30. If activities are restricted to outside of this period, then no submission is required.

    The intent is to provide the Government of Alberta with the location of full time employees in order to increase their safety in the event of a wildfire.

    All companies submitting an IWCP are required to do so through the Alberta Wildfire System (AWS).

    Log in to IWCP

    IWCP User Manual

    To log in to IWCP, you will need a Government of Alberta account and password.

    Full Time Habitation Guideline

    IWCP submissions are only required for locations/facilities that will be occupied full time. Full time habitation means employees are present at the facility, on average, for 4 or more hours each day. However, locations will be accepted if time spent at each facility is less than the guideline suggests.

    Temporary operating locations/facilities active during wildfire season (for example, seismic, drilling) are also required to submit an IWCP.

    Your company is not required to submit an IWCP if operations do not meet this minimum.

    Maintaining and updating IWCPs

    • Companies may maintain as many plans as they like (for example, a company may maintain one plan provincially or create plans for separate working areas).
    • Each IWCP must be updated prior to the end of February and updated when significant changes occur to the plan during the fire season.
    • If there are deficiencies found, the company planner will be contacted by Government of Alberta staff to correct the deficiencies.

    If your plan is not updated during the current fire year, the plan will become inactive and the information will not be made available to emergency responders. The company planner or administrator must update/activate the plan prior to fire season to ensure their data is available for emergency responders.

    The information submitted remains confidential and will be used solely by the Government of Alberta to assist in protecting your personnel and infrastructure from wildfires.

    Contact IWCP Support

    IWCP support is available Monday to Friday from 8:15 am to 4:30 pm.

    Email: [email protected]

  • Power Line Hazard Assessment Plan (PHAP)

    The purpose of the Power Line Hazard Assessment Plan (PHAP) is to reduce wildfires caused by power line contacts or equipment failures and the threat of infrastructure damage from an encroaching wildfire.

    The PHAP is applicable to all power lines within the province of Alberta and is a requirement as part of the pre-application requirements for power line approvals that fall within the Forest Protection Area of Alberta. This also applies to Vegetation Control Easements (VCE), but not to underground lines.

    The PHAP also performs as a risk-based tool used by industry to inform hazard tree maintenance, right-of-way widening and tree freeing programs, as well as wildfire best management practices.

    Power line approvals that fall within identified FireSmart Community Zones must be referred to the Government of Alberta prior to application to ensure alignment with community FireSmart planning.

    Log in to PHAP

    PHAP User Manual

    To login to PHAP you will need:

  • Wildfire Hazard Identification Tool (WHIT)

    The Wildfire Hazard Identification Tool (WHIT) is intended to help employers in Alberta determine if a wildland fire hazard exists near a current or planned worksite that could compromise the health and safety of employees working there if a wildland fire were to affect the area.

    Log in to WHIT

    WHIT User Manual

    Contact WHIT Support

    WHIT Support is available Monday to Friday from 8:15 am to 4:40 pm.

    Email: [email protected]

  • Access Wildfire GIS Data

    There are several ways of obtaining critical wildfire information to support your emergency management decisions. See Wildfire Data to access the various data available.

  • Industry resources

    Alberta Electrical Utility Wildfire Risk Best Management Practices

    FireSmart Guidebook for Oil and Gas Industry

    Wildfire Prevention – CAPP Best Management Practices

    The FireSmart Field Guide for the Upstream Oil and Gas Industry

    Emergency Preparedness Guide for Hazards Associated with Wildfires

  • Partnerships

    FireSmart Canada (Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre)

    Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers

Contact

Forest area office contacts

Information line: 1-866-394-3473 (FYI-FIRE)
Media inquiries: 780-420-1968
Email: [email protected]

Download the Alberta Wildfire app

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