The City of Edmonton has received the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC) award for Best Practices in the Wildland-Urban Interface. This award recognizes the City's collaborative approach to protecting Edmonton communities from wildfire risk and strengthening community preparedness and resilience.
The Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Wildfire Risk Strategy is an important part of the City's commitment to building a climate-resilient city that anticipates, prepares for and adapts to the impacts of climate change, including extreme weather events like wildfires. Introduced in April 2026, the strategy outlines the City's plan to reduce and manage the risk of wildfire in areas where urban development meets undeveloped wildland vegetation. This includes neighbourhoods and businesses bordering the River Valley and the ravine system.
Edmonton's integrated approach brings together teams from multiple City departments in emergency response, environmental planning, parks management and technology to protect its 7,400-hectare River Valley and surrounding neighbourhoods.
"Protecting Edmonton's River Valley is a responsibility no single department can carry alone," said Deputy Fire Chief Megan Rogers. "This award recognizes what we can accomplish when we bring our expertise together, identify risks before emergencies happen and work toward a shared goal of protecting our communities."
As part of this strategy, the City deploys a growing fleet of semi-autonomous thermal drones that proactively patrol the River Valley during wildland fire season, and is advancing a 55-node environmental sensor grid that detects ignition events within 15 minutes. The City also uses EmberWise, an in-house AI forecasting tool, to analyze local weather and conditions in real time to inform decisions on fire restrictions or bans.
Beyond technology, more than 900 City employees have received Emergency Social Services training to support residents during emergencies and large-scale evacuations. Proactive work is underway to manage vegetation and fuel loads, map forest stands, coordinate prescribed burns and use environmental monitoring for early detection. These activities reduce wildfire fuel, help prevent high-intensity fires, return important nutrients to the ecosystem and increase biodiversity.
In addition, the City is delivering FireSmart education to neighbourhoods facing high wildfire risk, helping residents understand and reduce potential wildfire hazards around their homes.
To learn more about the City's WUI Strategy, visit edmonton.ca/WildfireStrategy.
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