Horse River Wildfire MWF

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1 Horse River Wildfire MWF Alberta Agriculture and Forestry Fort McMurray Forest Area Presented by: Bernie Schmitte, RFPT

2 Overview Lessons Learned Introduction to the Fort McMurray Forest Area Conditions leading up to May 1, 2016 The Fire Behavior Triangle MWF Industry Fort McMurray FireSmart Wildfire Reviews

3 Lessons Learned Relationships Communications Common Operational Understanding

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Fort McMurray Forest Area 61,000 Square Km First Nations Smith Landing FN ACFN Fort Chip MCFN Fort Chip Fort McKay FN FMFN Willow Lake Metis McKay Fort Chip

5 Fort McMurray Forest Area 61,000 Square Km First Nations Smith Landing FN ACFN Fort Chip MCFN Fort Chip Fort McKay FN FMFN Willow Lake Metis McKay Fort Chip McMurray Alberta Pacific FMA Northland Forest Products A09 Quota 6 Communities Fort McMurray Fort McKay Fort Chipewyan Fitzgerald/Fort Smith Anzac Gregoire Lake Est. 5

6 Fort McMurray Forest Area 25 Permanent Forestry Personnel 90 Seasonal Personnel 13 Lookouts 3 Primary Fire Bases 1 Air Tanker Base 6

7 Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo 7

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11 Fort McMurray Wildfire Management Plan Process started in 2014 Risk based management planning Identification of risk 4 of the 5 Provincial Priorities Human Life Community Watersheds and Sensitive Soils Natural Resources Infrastructure Analysis Evaluation Treatment strategies 11

12 Cumulative Risk

13 Pre-Wildfire Season Environmental Conditions Winter 2015/16 left northern boreal zones with high drought conditions 2015/16 Winter temps were 4 degrees warmer than average Five man-caused wildfires detected in December 2015 and early January 2016 Winter precipitation was 46% of normal Snowmelt occurred 2 weeks earlier than normal Mid April foliar samples indicate low moisture content - Spring Dip 13

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15 April 29, 2016 MMD-002 Parsons Creek 15

16 April 30, 2016 MMD-003 Abasand Heights 16

17 Mutual Aid Wildfires April

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19 Fuels Fuels within 10km of the point of origin: Pure deciduous & coniferous stands Mixed-wood stands, grass, and slash Most stands typed as pure aspen had a significant coniferous understory Green up had not occurred thus foliar moisture content was low Spruce budworm infestations likely contributed to fuel availability High to very high drought codes throughout area 19

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21 Topography The terrain around Fort McMurray may appear flat: Fort McMurray is situated at the intersections of 4 rivers, all containing steep slopes Most slopes were densely vegetated which supported an accelerated rate of spread and extended transport of firebrands Industrial activity is abundant in the area which contributes to the challenges in gaining access to the fire. Pipeline crossings being the most significant. 21

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23 Weather Weather conditions leading up to May 1 and beyond were above seasonal norms. Winds were high and changed direction daily Temperatures in the high 20 s to 30 degrees Relative Humidity low teens No significant precipitation since February 23

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26 Gordon Lake Tower May 1, 2016 FFMC 92 DMC 10 DC 370 ISI 10 BUI 20 FWI 14 HFI ROS 26

27 MAY 1, 2016 MWF-009 Reported 16:03 Helitack with RW on Loaded Patrol Fire Assessment at 16:08 2 Ha Burning in Grass RANK 4 Int. Crown Fire 10m / min Air Tanker group requested

28 May 1, 2016 Time 16:47 MWF-009 BD 130 Arrives with CV580 Convair 2 Additional Air Tanker Grps requested

slope between commercial and residential property Tankers

29 May 1, 2016 Time 17:15 New Fire Reported MMD-004 CV580 diverted from MWF-009 to new fire MMD-004 Fire burning on slope between commercial and residential property Tankers drop 3 heavy loads to suppress spread towards residential properties

30 May 2 nd May 3 rd May 5 th May 6 th May 9 th May 15 th May 17 th May 18 th May 24 th

31 MAY 15, 2016

32 Spruce Budworm Infestations

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35 ANZAC

36 YMM Radar May 5, 2016

37 Industry Multiple oil sands plants/facilities and 31 camps in vicinity of fire 14 camps cleared veg around facilities 2 camps were lost to fire Mitigation work done at multiple facilities Suncor Firebag Northland Forest Products Camps

38 Blacksands Lodge

39 Wapasu Creek Lodge

40 Firebag SAGD Facility

41 Forest Industry - NFPL

47 Dickensfield

48 Ermine Crescent

49 Sicamore Place

50 Urban Planning

51 Access

52 Evacuation Routes

53 Peek Incident Status Size - 589,522 hectares Command Staff 251 Fire Fighters 1,677 Heavy Equipment 269 Air Tankers 22 and 10 Birddogs Light, Intermediate, Medium Helicopters 72 Heavy Helicopters - 5

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55 Mutual Aid Alberta 1,359 Newfoundland 15 Parks Canada, Canadian Forest Service & CCIFC 36 Yukon 30 British Columbia 199 North West Territories 79 Prince Edward Island 7 Mexico 41 Manitoba 2 Nova Scotia 3 Quebec 44 South Africa 299 New Brunswick 52 Ontario 169 Saskatchewan 43 USA 203

56 Economic Impact The Insurance Bureau of Canada est. the cost to rebuild at 3.7 billion Lost oil production ~47 million barrels of oil or $1.4B 12% of RMWB GDP 0.5 per cent of Alberta s GDP 0.06 per cent of Canada s GDP 8.5 million work hours were lost in May and June in Fort McMurray

57 A Review of the 2016 Horse River Wildfire Prepared by: MNP LLP Prepared for: Forestry Division, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry The report provides 10 recommendations and 11 opportunities for improvement MNP-Report.pdf Google: 2016 Horse River Wildfire Review

58 Agriculture and Forestry Horse River Wildfire Review MNP LLP Recommendations 1. Enhance fire weather forecast materials and fire behaviour forecasts. 2. Enhance and expand the Planning Section in the AWCC 3. Establish Standard Operating Procedures around ICS for use with related agencies in the Wildland Urban Interface 4. Emphasize a long-term vision for FireSmart within the province 5. Complete and implement Landscape Wildfire Management Planning process.

59 Opportunities for Improvement 1. Ag Forestry, Office of the Fire Commissioner and Municipalities to work at expanding the use sprinkler systems to protect buildings in the WUI 2. Leverage experiences learned to jointly lead comprehensive exercises in Emergency Management across Alberta 3. Ag Forestry to position itself to take full advantage of existing and emerging technologies in decision and situation awareness tools

60 May 2016 Wood Buffalo Wildfire Post-Incident Assessment Report Prepared by: KPMG Prepared for: Alberta Emergency Management Agency 21 Recommendations Many having cross-government responsibilities KPMG-Report.pdf Google: May 2016 Wood Buffalo Wildfire Post- Incident Assessment Report

61 AEMA Wildfire Post-Incident Report 1. Review the legislative framework of the Emergency Management Act 2. Continue to invest in Prevention Programs 3. Standardize the format and process for postincident assessments 4. Develop a disaster resiliency strategy 5. Enhance investment in public awareness and engagement initiatives for emergency preparedness 6. Enhance existing public emergency communication approaches 7. Mandate local authorities to adopt the Incident Command system during response

62 Lessons Learned Recommendations from the 2016 Horse River Wildfire Prepared by: KPMG Prepared for: RMWB KPMG used a formal evaluation framework to conduct the review. The framework is based on Preparedness, Response, Recovery and Prevention. Information/Lessons-Learned-and- Recommendations-from-the-2016-Horse-River- Wildfire.htm Google: RMWB Lessons Learned Horse River Wildfire

63 RMWB Lessons Learned Recommendations Horse River Wildfire 1. FireSmart Planning within RMWB - $14 million 2. Enhanced Emergency Management Planning to meet CSA standards 3. Changes to reporting structure with clearly defined roles. Fire Chief now reporting directly to the CAO. 4. Training and Exercise planning for Emergency Management 5. Relationship building and collaboration with key stakeholders 6. Enhancement to Municipal Emergency Management Program

64 Lessons Learned Relationships Communications Common Operational Understanding

65 Bertie Beaver was born on a drawing board at Walt Disney Studios in Bertie was gifted to the Alberta Forest Service for assisting Disney with a number of wildlife films shot in Kananaskis country. 65

Effectiveness of Mulching as a Fuel Treatment

Effectiveness of Mulching as a Fuel Treatment Case Study at Red Earth Creek, Alberta Steven Hvenegaard, FPInnovations Dave Schroeder, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry October 19, 2015 Significance of fire