Feds to upgrade firefighting equipment in Banff, other national parks

The federal government are building a new facility at Banff to upgrade access to wildfire equipment. (Photo: Twitter@BanffNationalPark)

The federal government announced Thursday that it's upgrading its cache of equipment in Banff to help fight wildfires.

The equipment will be stored at a new Banff facility, and will be ready to be deployed on short notice, enhancing wildfire preparedness in national park and improving Parks Canada's ability to rapidly respond to wildfires.

In a release issued Thursday, the federal government said it has spent more than $65 million since 2021 in Parks Canada's national wildfire management program.

Funding has gone towards increasing the number of fire management specialists and firefighting crews, enhanced training, and increasing the scope of risk reduction by focusing on communities within or adjacent to national parks.

"The recent wave of wildfires across Alberta and Canada has severely affected millions of Canadians," said Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault, who is also the associate minister of finance. "We have seen thousands of Albertans leaving their homes to flee the fires, communities destroyed, and livelihoods threatened. My heart goes out to all those that have been affected by the wildfires.

"The Government of Canada takes wildfire preparedness and resilience seriously and is investing in measures that are critical to protecting Albertans, Canadians, visitors, communities and infrastructure from the impact of wildfire in and around national parks," Boissonnault said, continuing.

"Parks Canada's national fire equipment cache will enhance Parks Canada's capacity to respond to wildfire incidents and to support other fire management agencies when they need assistance.

"I would also like to thank all the first responders for their hard work throughout this difficult fire season."