Province to use Disaster Recovery Program to support communities affected by wildfires

The province is making $175 million available to municipalities and Métis settlements impacted by wildfires.

More than 1.4 million hectares of land burned in wildfires in Alberta between May and June, forcing 38,000 Albertans out of their homes.

Money from the province's Disaster Recovery Program will be used to help communities recoup the costs of wildfire response and recovery.

Expenses may include volunteer firefighter wages, overtime costs for firefighters or municipal staff, mutual aid costs for reception centres, food and transportation, structural protection costs, and infrastructure damaged by the wildfire response, like damage to public parks to create a fire break.

"In responding to the wildfires, Alberta municipalities and Métis settlements have had to manage extraordinary costs and pressures to help keep resident’s homes and businesses safe. We're here to help shoulder this burden," public safety minister Mike Ellis told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday.

Ellis said there is no cap on the amount of money that can be paid to a community.

Municipalities and Métis settlements will be able to apply to the province, and the province will pay 90 per cent of the cost, with the municipality covering the remaining 10 per cent.

Emergency relief costs for First Nations are covered by the federal government.

"We will review the program applications on a case-by-case basis to provide impacted communities with the support and assistance that they do need," Ellis said.

The town of Drayton Valley was evacuated for 12 days in May because of the Buck Creek Wildfire.

"The Buck Creek Wildfire has been one of the most challenging disasters that our community has had to face," Drayton Valley Mayor Nancy Dodds told reporters.

"These funds will help us recover some of the costs that have been incurred."

Dodds said the town hasn't calculated the entire cost of the fire.

"We're still doing assessment both on ground and around the area of what the damages were," she said.

During the news conference, Ellis was quick to point out that the money could not be used as a replacement for fire insurance coverage.

"We encourage homeowners and small business owners and other individuals and other organizations to work through their insurance providers if their property was damaged by the wildfires," he said.

He also acknowledged that some First Nation and Métis residents were not able to be insured for fire coverage before the wildfires, and says the province is working to address that issue.

"We're working with the Indigenous communities," he said. "I can tell you that [Indigenous Relations] Minister [Rick] Wilson has been talking to the chiefs in that area. All I can say is there's ongoing discussions. We're fully aware of what the issue is."

The Disaster Recovery Program was previously used after the 2020 flooding in northern Alberta, the 2016 fire in Fort McMurray, the 2013 southern Alberta floods, and the 2011 Slave Lake wildfires.