Ontario Increasing Wildland Firefighting Capacity
Investments in new aircraft and personnel helping ensure province prepared for fire seasons
The governments of Ontario and Canada are investing $64 million to strengthen the province’s wildland fire program. The funding program will enhance Ontario’s firefighting abilities, allowing the province to hire and train key personnel and fund the purchase of new support equipment and technology, including fuel systems, tankers, trucks and software systems.
“Our government is making critical investments in our wildland fire program – on the ground and in the air – to keep Ontario at the leading edge of wildland firefighting,” said Graydon Smith, Minister of Natural Resources. “As an internationally recognized leader in wildland fire safety, we are preparing for more frequent and complex fire seasons to protect our communities now and in the future.”
To help keep communities safe this fire season and in the future, Ontario is also:
- Contracting the services of four additional medium helicopters to support fire suppression, increasing Ontario’s total number of contracted helicopters to 13.
- Ensuring support for communities impacted by fires and floods by contracting the services of an additional plane to assist with community evacuations, if needed.
- Creating more than 100 additional permanent positions to build leadership and experience within our wildland fire program. These new year-round positions will support improved career path opportunities for fire rangers and other staff.
- Investing $5 million to help attract and retain wildland firefighting staff. This investment recognizes the critical services of wildland firefighters and pilots with an incentive/retention payment of up to $5,000 for the 2024 fire season.
- Supporting wildland firefighters and investigators with improved access to benefit entitlements and eligibility for the same presumptive benefits as municipal firefighters and fire investigators.
“I am so proud of Ontario’s highly trained and skilled members working in wildland firefighting,” said Kevin Holland, Associate Minister of Forestry and Forest Products, “and as we strengthen our forestry sector, it’s crucial to leverage these skills to ensure the safety and resilience of Ontario communities affected by wildfires. Our training programs and investments are essential in supporting all communities that depend on our wildland firefighters.”
With the end of this fire season approaching, Ontario continues to look to future seasons and other ways to improve and modernize our equipment, personnel, and air fleet.
Quick Facts
- To date this year, there have been 450 wildland fires, with 89,395 hectares of forests burned.
- Ontario participates in agreements with its provincial, territorial, federal, and international partners that allow for the sharing of personnel, equipment, and aircraft between agencies during periods of escalated wildland fire activity.
- So far this year, Ontario has deployed staff, equipment, and aircraft to partners in Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador and the Northwest Territories to support their wildland fire management operations.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love