City officials say Calgary is prepared as wildfires burn in other parts of Alberta

As central and northern Alberta deal with wildfires, officials in Calgary say they are monitoring conditions to make sure they are well prepared.

An already scheduled Emergency Management committee meeting at Calgary City Hall heard on Wednesday that the city remains a hotspot when it comes to natural disasters.

The city says they have identified 10 different spring and summer high risks ranging from hailstorms to tornadoes, which are still considered unlikely to happen in Calgary, that could impact the city in the future.

The assessments are not necessarily a reflection of what is expected to happen this season, but rather a future outlook to better prepare the city.

“We see there’s a shift, we see that there’s more complex events happening, we see them happening more often, and we see them happening almost on top of each other,” says Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) deputy chief Coby Duerr.

“Especially in Alberta as one of those disaster capitals of Canada.”

The update comes as a wide swath of the province is seeing fire risk levels ranging from high to extreme. Residents in rural areas northeast of Edmonton have been ordered to leave their homes because of separate wildfires.

“When the snow leaves, there is a lot of dead, dry grass and fine fuels that are left behind,” says Alberta Wildfire information officer Derrick Forsythe. “It’s kind of the most volatile time of year for us as an organization.”

“That’s when those dry grasses ignite really easily and can spread fire quite easily.”

City officials say, for the most part, Calgary is prepared.

“Our fire department is really well-prepared to address these, but just like anything else, the risk is that if there’s too many that are happening at once,” says Coun. Courtney Walcott. “There will always be a day where too many things are happening and you can never prepare for that type of concentration.”