From a go-bag to a go-camper: How these Albertans are preparing for wildfire season

Darin Nelson is on the hunt for snow.

"We're getting ready for the Alberta Snowmobile Jamboree in March," says Nelson, president of the Edson Sno-SeekersSnowmobile Club.

"We're at the mercy of Mother Nature at all times."

Nelson and the 8,400 residents of Edson, 200 kilometres west of Edmonton, lived that lesson repeatedly in the summer of 2023 when floods and wildfires twice forced the town's evacuation.

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Those natural disasters have left their mark on the landscape, including on some of the 300 km of trails maintained by volunteers with the snowmobile club.

"There are 35 kilometres of their trail system in the burn zone so there are a lot of trees down they're having to clear," says Nelson. "After the fires and floods we've had four bridge repairs."

He figures his 150 riders have already put in about 1,750 hours between grooming, maintenance and repairs, and he expects that to double by the end of the season.

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Standing in picturesque Willmore Park not far from town, Edson MayorKevin Zahara points out the hiking trails, bike skills park and campground and remembers the fire jumping the McLeod River.

"Lots of anxiety thinking one of the gems in our community could have been completely destroyed by fire," Zahara says.

The overflow campground was destroyed but the rest of the park was spared."It was a wall of fire," says Zahara. "I remember driving around town that day and people were panicking because of the skies and the winds and the smoke."

He says these days, those feelings of anxiety return whenever there is smoke in the air or an emergency phone alert.

"Unless you go through that in your community, I don't think you realize the impact it has," he says.

He says town officials are currently working with leaders in the surrounding Yellowhead County to prepare for this season.

"Right now we're hosting a bunch of FireSmart programs clear across Yellowhead County," says county Mayor Wade Williams.

The three-hour sessions offer tips for people living on farms and acreages things like clearing trees and placing sprinklers to protect property.

He says they're also repairing and replacing fire gearand meeting with provincial officials to make sure they have the equipment they need.

That's to make sure "everybody is on the same page" and to beprepared for what could happen in spring, Williams says.

He saysone of the real challenges last year was that lakes were still frozen over when fires started at the end of April.

"Scoop planes would not work, helicopters could not dip water," says Williams. Now, however, there's an alternative.

"There is a station in Edson at the airport where they can load water into planes. That would be one of the ways we could be on these things a little quicker."

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Williams says after losing 36 homes and living through more than 60 days of active fires last summer now is "go time."

Many residents have a go-bag with essentials already packed but Shari McDowell says she's gone one step further.

"My camper is packed. It's been packed since last summer," says McDowell, manager at the Galloway Station Museum and Travel Centre.

She says when the fire came within 1.5 km of the town, "it was a little scary," but since then there's been a lot more thought.

"The first time there was just panic, we just threw things in and left. The second time was a little more controlled and now I am ready."