From Wildfire Recovery to a Sustainable Future
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the first year of Recovery. This report is a summary of events since then, laying the foundation for transition as the GOA Recovery presence scales back to regular service programming and the Recovery Team winds up in March 2014. The Regional Wildfire Recovery Plan The Lesser Slave Lake Regional Wildfire Recovery Plan was jointly announced on August 3, 2011 by the GOA, Town, MD and the FN. The wildfires were a regional disaster that required a regional response. The Recovery Plan required the close collaboration of the three local councils, their staffs, and their people. The Plan Introduction was wide-ranging and comprehensive, but granted considerable flexibility regarding projects and actual The wildfires of May 2011 and related response/ budget allocations. It follows the arc of activity from evacuation efforts have been well documented. Three initial emergency response, through stabilization and wildfires ignited in the region on May 14 and the intermediate recovery, to long-term, sustainable growth. Municipal District of Lesser Slave River No. 124 (MD), the Town of Slave Lake (Town), and the Sawridge First Nation Funding: How the Response and Recovery (FN) declared states of local emergency. The following day, 100 KM/h winds stirred up the fires, resulting in Funds Provided by the Province Were Invested the loss of 333 homes, 169 apartments, 3 churches, In total, the GOA committed $289 million to the Regional 10 businesses and the radio station in the Town and Wildfire Recovery Plan. Disaster Recovery Program 56 residences in Poplar Lane and the South Shore funding reimburses municipalities, their citizens, small hamlets of Canyon Creek and Widewater (which also businesses, provincial departments, and emergency lost its firehall) in the MD. In all, about 22,000 hectares, responders for eligible costs related to uninsurable including properties, residences and forest was loss and damage. Initial response spending in the DRP destroyed. The fires resulted in the evacuation of more was budgeted at $125.3 million. In 2012, $29 million than 14,000 regional residents and received international was transferred to the Community Stabilization Fund attention for the devastation they caused. to address infrastructure repairs which were ineligible The Government of Alberta (GOA) launched a for DRP funding. The net budget of $96.3 million was coordinated local and provincial emergency response invested in: and provided comprehensive recovery assistance to the • firefighting resources region, including both human and financial resources. • a contract with the Red Cross This strong, coordinated response to an unprecedented • municipal Reception Centres for evacuees Alberta disaster was designed to provide support to • the Provincial Operations Centre families and individuals who lost their residences and possessions and bolster the spirits of area citizens who • debris clean up and removal were all impacted. Importantly, the Province’s response • short term emergency housing, and looked to the longer-term to ensure the Lesser Slave Lake • other infrastructure and site remediation Region would fully recover from the devastation and rise requirements again as a regional hub for industry, tourists, and residents. On May 15, 2012, the community and its partners came together to mark the first anniversary of the wildfires. With local input, the GOA produced the One Year Stronger, Together review of accomplishments over Examples of this funding include: $64.2 million was allotted to Regional Recovery projects and about $24 million to address: • the initial emergency relief assistance to 14,943 and related activities. This funding is directly managed by • social wellness ($2 million) elected officials of the three regional governments and individuals (at $1250 per adult and $500 per child) • financial stabilization in addition to funding of totaling $14.5 million was originally budgeted based upon a list of key projects 2011 municipal revenue shortfalls provided in • small business loans totaling $13.5 million developed by local elected and administrative officials Community Stabilization ($6.25 million) in the early days after the wildfires. The budget involved • property tax relief to replace the shortfall in municipal • firefighting resources ($600,000) both “pure” Recovery projects “to return the region to revenues from destroyed houses and commercial • capital projects ($11.6 million) buildings totaling $1.5 million in 2011 (an additional its pre-disaster state“ and those designed to ensure the $6.25 million was set aside for financial stabilization region is “well positioned for future growth.” The Tri- • municipal staffing support ($1.5 million) as noted on page 2) Council performs an oversight function for the investment • small business and economic development • education stabilization funding ($1.4 million) to of Recovery funds held in trust. Once an investment is ($900,000) ensure staffing stability endorsed, the project is assigned to either the MD or • regional transit ($1 million) Town as a sponsor, and an application is prepared to the • $4.5 million to fund the Regional Recovery To date, the Tri-Council has endorsed projects GOA. Once approved, funds are administered by the CAO Coordination Group (RRCG) totaling almost $50 million (2011: $ 4.2 million; 2012: Secretariat and executed by the RRCG, local government • $29 million was re-allocated from DRP for long-term $15.5 million; 2013 year-to-date: $28.8 million). infrastructure replacement in the Town staff, contractors, and/or partners. Recovery program activities have also allowed the As the Tri-Council, CAO Secretariat and RRCG began to region to leverage additional funds for a community Regional Recovery Projects Coordinated crystallize work plans, specific programs and projects wellness conference, education and health programs by Tri-Council ($64.2 million) emerged, including a model community FireSmart and equipment, a regional professional recruitment and program ($20 million), a Regional Waterline ($20 million) Of the $289 million Wildfire Recovery Plan funding, retention video, and a comprehensive Regional Land Use & Economic Development Plan initiated in 2013. MAjOR PROjects FIRESMART $20 million Almost a third of the Recovery Project budget Cross Training regional fire personnel who overseen by the Tri-Council was allocated to create usually fight structural fires on wildland a model FireSmart Community to implement and firefighting techniques demonstrate FireSmart principles on a regional scale. FireSmart is a nationally recognized initiative Inter-agency Cooperation to ensure an designed to help home and property owners integrated planning, communications, training reduce the threat of wildfires in the “wildland/urban and response process interface” where wildlands and human residences meet. The interface occurs when we extend our In November 2011, the Tri-Council endorsed initial Removing yard debris lifestyle and communities further into forested areas, FireSmart initiatives totaling $1.9 million, including: becoming more exposed to wildfires. For more • development of community plans ($200,000) information about FireSmart and tips regarding your • creating vegetation management demonstration FUEL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM own property, please visit www.livefiresmart.ca. areas ($750,000) Vegetation management is by far the largest • acquiring supplementary firefighting equipment single investment and most visible component Citizen involvement is the cornerstone of a successful ($940,000) of our regional FireSmart program. FireSmart FireSmart program. The program helps reduce the • setting up a FireSmart Education program crews – regional FireSmart personnel, Sawridge risk to life, communities, resources and infrastructure; ($100,000) FN crews, ESRD crews, contract crews and promotes principles and actions for individuals and forest industry partnerships working on companies; provides information to stakeholder Since then, Tri-Council has endorsed additional Forest Management Agreement lands – have audiences; and brings communities and organizations investments in the FireSmart Seven Disciplines for a completed 830 of the 1390 hectares identified in detailed regional hazard assessment and fuels together to work cooperatively to plan and prepare total allocation of almost $11.5 million. This includes management strategies outlined in the 2012 for effective response to future wildfires. review and implementation of the Sawridge FN Wildfire Mitigation Strategy (posted on FireSmart plan ($500,000), and assembling a full www.livefiresmart.ca). time interface work crew and machinery to enable the Regional Fire Services to take ownership of all Approximately $3.4 million of the $6.26 million vegetation management budget endorsed by FireSmart activities in the region ($1,517,000) and Tri-Council has been spent or committed to $500,000 for engineering and installation of dry date. This map shows completed and proposed hydrants and water access sites for fire suppression vegetation management programs, which range in the MD. from thinning, pruning and mulching to removal of “dead-and-down” timber and commercial FireSmart is designed to be a long-term, sustainable harvesting. Marten Beach and Widewater are program in the Lesser Slave Lake Region. In April examples of completed FireSmart treatments. 2013, a new FireSmart Committee was formed to In early 2013, FRAT worked with local timber ensure the sustainability of the regional program companies and small sawmill operators