Wildfire compliance and enforcement

This act:

• establishes the wildfire season
• enables cost recovery
• enables fire control orders
• sets maximum fine amounts
• identifies wildland firefighting responsibilities
• describes the authority of Forest Officers and Fire Guardians
• provides fire prevention requirements
• regulates industrial operations for wildfire prevention
• identifies offences and penalties

While the act may apply across Alberta, the Government of Alberta is responsible for wildfire activities (such as suppression and prevention) inside the Forest Protection Area (FPA). Outside of the FPA, cities, towns, villages, summer villages, counties and municipal districts are responsible for wildfire activities, but can always request assistance from the Government of Alberta.

The following regulations are also under the act:

Ministerial Orders related to Forestry Division activities include:

• Area Closure Orders
• Fire Control Orders
• Revocation Orders

2024 Ministerial Orders

• Ministerial Order 12/2024
• Ministerial Order 11/2024
• Ministerial Order 10/2024

Past Ministerial Orders

Past Ministerial Orders are hosted on Open Government:

• 2023 Ministerial Orders
• 2022 Ministerial Orders
• 2021 Ministerial Orders
• 2020 Ministerial Orders
• 2019 Ministerial Orders
• 2018 Ministerial Orders

Fire Guardians are appointed each year for the beginning of the fire season under the Forest and Prairie Protection Act to promote wildfire prevention in Alberta. One of their main functions is to issue fire permits in the Forest Protection Area of Alberta. For a free permit, contact your local area office.

Forest Officers administer forestry and wildfire based compliance activities in the Forest Protection Area of Alberta. Forest Officers are appointed under the Forests Act and have the authority for wildfire and forest protection based compliance activities. They may issue fire permits and use additional compliance tools, including fire control orders such as the Order to Remove or Reduce fire danger.

The Government of Alberta has a number of Forest Officers that are also appointed as Alberta Peace Officers and have the authority to take enforcement actions for wildfire and forest protection based compliance activities including the issuance of violation tickets.

Alberta Peace Officers are authorized under the Peace Officer Act to perform a range of duties on behalf of the province. Alberta Justice has overall authority for the Public Security Peace Officer Program, as provided in the Peace Officer Act. The Procedures Regulation under the Provincial Offences Procedure Act authorizes violation tickets for wildfire related offences.

The RCMP and other Government of Alberta appointed Peace Officers (for example, Fish and Wildlife Officers, Conservation Officers) have full authority under the Forest and Prairie Protection Act. They may assist in education, compliance and enforcement activities on forested lands in Alberta. Additionally, some community Peace Officers may also hold authority to enforce portions of the act within their jurisdictions.

Education of wildfire legislative and regulatory requirements is one of the functions of Alberta Wildfire. This is key to preventing wildfires and encouraging compliance.

A fire permit is required for all outdoor burning, except cooking and warming fires, within the Forest Protection Area during wildfire season. For more information, see Get a fire permit.

Periodically throughout the wildfire season, permits and/or campfires may be restricted or prohibited within defined areas of the province.

For more information, see Fire bans.

For active fire bans in the province, see Alberta Fire Bans.

An information letter may be used for education purposes for any human-caused wildfires and may be used to advise a potential responsible party that they may be invoiced for the cost of the wildfire.

An OTR is a written, legal instrument and a fire control order. A Forest Officer can issue an OTR for burning contrary to the conditions of a fire permit or can order a removal of a fire or fire hazard under the authority of the Forest and Prairie Protection Act. Non-compliance with an order creates an offence and a violation may be prosecuted accordingly.

A written warning informs the regulated party that they are contravening a specific legislative or regulatory requirement and may recommend a course of action to achieve compliance. Written warnings create a formal history of the alleged non-compliance and, in cases where a warning is ignored or repeated, it may lead to an escalated enforcement response.

A specified fine/violation ticket is a form of prosecution under the Provincial Offences Procedure Act that allows dealing effectively with easily observable non-compliance (such as a person who is burning without a permit or during a fire ban). Ticket amounts may range from $360 to $1,200 per violation. A person can either pay the fine indicated or dispute the charge in court.

See the Fines and violations section above for more information.

Administrative penalties are monetary penalties that are applied by a statutory decision-maker if it is determined that legislative or regulatory requirements have been contravened. Penalties can range up to $10,000 per occurrence per day, and the focus is often on industry non-compliance issues, scaling the penalties to reflect the seriousness of the contraventions.

Determining factors

Administrative penalties are determined by the department on a case-by-case basis. Some of the factors that are considered in deciding an administrative penalty are:

• the severity of the contravention and adverse effects caused by it
• the degree of wilfulness or negligence in the contravention
• whether steps have been taken to prevent the contravention or its reoccurrence
• whether any economic benefit was derived

Cost recovery is intended to recover firefighting costs, suppression expenses and other damages suffered by the Crown from the responsible party. This can occur in several ways, including through the court system’s civil litigation process.

A prosecution is undertaken when an individual or a corporation is alleged to have contravened the law and is prosecuted in court. It is often reserved for more serious violations and situations. Under the Forest and Prairie Protection Act, the maximum fine that can be levied is $100,000 or imprisonment for up to 2 years in the case of an individual, and $1,000,000 in the case of a corporation. Prosecutions can also occur for Criminal Code offences.