How fire ready is Edmonton? What one of Canada’s largest urban park means for wildfire risk

As an out-of-control wildfire rages on in Jasper National Park, many Edmontonians have wondered about the wildfire risk in their home community. 

Edmonton’s river valley along the North Saskatchewan River is one of the largest urban park in Canada with 4,500 hectares of natural area, said Courtney Teliske, a City of Edmonton ecologist of natural areas.  

Specialists say several factors make Edmonton more resistant to a fast-spreading wildfire. 

“The likelihood of a fire getting out of control in the City of Edmonton is much lower than, say, in the northern parts of the province,” Teliske said in an interview last week. 

A major factor is the type of tree that dominates Edmonton’s natural areas. 

Deciduous, leafy trees like poplar, birch and aspen are slower to ignite and spread, while coniferous trees like pine and spruce burn more quickly. 

The sap in evergreen trees is easy fuel for fast-moving wildfires, such as the one that is burning in Jasper National Park.

The trees grow closely together so the tightly packed needles make it easier for fire to jump from tree top to tree top. 

One higher-risk area of Edmonton is along the Anthony Henday in the northwest where evergreens are clustered, Teliske said. 

“They’re like black spruce, they’re really dense. There’s a lot of trees that have died. So those are our higher-risk areas from a fuel standpoint.” 

Structures and homes can also be high risk, especially on south-facing slopes along the banks and river valley, she said. 

To help reduce the fire risk, crews assess parts of the city and remove dry debris and dead wood when needed, she noted. 

“What we’re most concerned about is the fine fuels. So like the smaller branches that become stacked and piled and aren’t decomposing.” 

Materials on the ground already decomposing retain moisture that helps prevent fuels from igniting, she added. 

Eyes on the trails

The river valley has more than 160 km of formal paved trails and another 150 km more of informal trails, according to specialists. 

Shantel Koenig, a member of the Edmonton Mountain Bike Association and also an ecologist with an Edmonton-based consulting firm, has been riding the trails for several years. 

She says the deciduous forest makes it more resistant to wildfires and the number of people on the trails helps keep an eye on things. But there can still be fires, especially in spring. 

“I would say one time a year that’s quite dangerous and a lot of us have seen this riding. We come across brush fires or grass fires,” Koenig told CBC News in an interview last week. 

“In the spring it’s extra dry — that’s the time of year when we don’t have trees on leaves and, and grown-up grass, lush grass.” 

Teliske said there’s also rapid detection in the city compared to regions outside the urban setting. 

“The fires that start in the boreal forest, they can go for days without anyone seeing them,” Teliske said. 

“Here, there’s people everywhere. So the detection is going to be that much quicker. We also have faster response times from [Edmonton] Fire Rescue Services.” 

Edmonton Fire Rescue Services tracks the total number of wildland and grass fires across the city. 

This year so far, crews responded to more than 532 fires while in 2023, they went to 752.

In an email to CBC News last week, fire and the city’s operations departments said crews can use boats to help fight wildland urban fires along the river banks and in the river valley.

The boats are designed for water rescue emergencies but can be equipped with portable pumps, hoses and nozzles, which are stored at a fire station in Rossdale. 

Dead wood

Edward Struzik, the author of Firestorm: How Wildfire Will Shape Our Future, thinks the City of Edmonton could do more to fire-proof the trails. 

“I walk through there twice a day with my dog and I marvel at just how much dead wood that there is down there and how much fuel there is on the ground.”

Struzik been writing about environmental and scientific issues for 30 years, and says the city could do more to improve access where it might be challenging. 

“We have a lot of houses like mine and my neighbour’s that are within ember reach.” 

The issue is on the minds of city councillors, including Ashley Salvador, who represents Ward Métis. 

“Seeing fires within the region, across the province, it has been incredibly alarming,” Salvador said last week. 

“Our smoke-filled summers are a constant reminder that we have to be prepared and ready for fires and especially within our communities and within the river valley where there is that heightened risk.” 

In a memo to city council in February, fire services and city officials said they’re working on a strategy tailored for each of Edmonton’s 15 districts, as well as a plan for the entire city. 

City council is set to get an update on Edmonton’s readiness for fire at an Emergency Advisory Committee on Aug. 15.