$1.3M announced for Highway 63 emergency services

As many asfour full-time emergency responders will be hired to respond to crashesalong a stretch of Highway 63 that has beenthe focus of a disputeinvolvingtwo northern Alberta volunteer fire departments.

On Monday, the province announced it will contribute$800,000 towards a new regional initiative to hire the emergency workers. Theremaining $500,000 will come from Athabasca County.

The money will also help the area come up with a regional plan for providing fire and emergency services along Highway 63, which is the main road to Fort McMurray.

The roadhas a reputation for being one of Alberta's deadliest highways.

Last year, volunteer firefighters in Wandering River and Plamondon stoppedresponding tovehicle crashes along the highway because the workload was too great for their small departments.

The province set up a working group in response forconsulting with first responders and municipalities to come up with a solution.

.