Discover how Hinton is bolstering wildfire preparedness through collaborative efforts, strategic investments, and community-focused FireSmart initiatives to keep our town safe and resilient.

PERSONAL PREPAREDNESS

Get ready for emergencies and disasters by taking simple steps now. To be prepared, you need to know what to do, where to go, and have enough supplies for a week or more. Preparing in advance can keep you safe and comfortable, and help you get back to your normal life and work more quickly. It also helps others because emergency responders can focus on helping those who need it the most.

1. Create a 72-Hour Kit
If you had to shelter in place, or if you had to care for your family for a prolonged period without water or power, would you be able to? Unexpected situations happen every day. Having supplies is one thing you can do to help your household better manage disruptions whether they are big or small.

2. Create an Emergency Plan
Disasters and emergencies often cause confusion and distress. An emergency plan can help you cope with the stress of these situations.

3. Be Ready for an Evacuation

• Know Your Evacuation Zone. In order to avoid confusion or being unnecessarily evacuated, review your evacuation zones and muster points for work and home, as well as your children’s schools.
• Pre-register as an evacuee through the MyAlberta Emergency Registration System.

4. Stay Informed
During an emergency, it is important to receive information from official sources. Take these steps now to ensure you are prepared.

• Download the Alberta Emergency Alert app. This is crucial to ensure you are notified if an Emergency Alert is issued for our area. If you do not have an Alberta cell number, you will not automatically receive Alberta Emergency Alerts
• Download the Alberta Wildfire app to find the status and location of wildfires, fire restrictions and bans, and learn more about wildfire prevention, operations and careers.
• Sign up for notifications on the Town of Hinton website
• Follow Town of Hinton on Facebook
• Additional useful apps can be found here.

TOWN PREPAREDNESS

South Hinton Fireguard Project
There are several landscape-level fireguards to the south and west of the Town of Hinton that were completed by Alberta Wildfire Management approximately 20 years ago. The fireguard has had significant regrowth since then, and the Town plans to use this fireguard footprint and the recent TransMountain pipeline construction to create a permanent community fireguard.

• In August 2024, the Town was awarded a $77,400 grant from the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta (FRIAA) for the planning phase of the South Hinton Fireguard Project.
• In September 2024, the Town applied for $3.5 million from FRIAA for construction of the fireguard, including harvesting vegetation, mulching vegetation, and debris removal, but was awarded only $550,000 to mulch vegetation on the existing footprint.
  Hinton Mayor Nicholas Nissen and CAO Jordan Panasiuk met with Alberta’s Minister of Forestry and Parks, Todd Loewen, in February 2025 to advocate for additional funding for this project. The Town is now working with Forestry and Provincial partners to submit a supplementary application to FRIAA in March 2025 to further this project.
• In April 2025, the Town began reinforcing the South Fireguard. The South Fireguard Mulching Project re-treated 58.2 hectares of overgrown fireguard originally constructed in 2009, between Highway 40 South and Highway 16. The project includes stumping, removal of dense regrowth, and low-depth mulching to limit future wildfire intensity while preserving soil health and avoiding excessive fuel buildup.
  View a map of the South Hinton Fireguard Project here

FireSmart™ Initiatives
FireSmart™ Canada is a national program that helps Canadians increase neighbourhood resilience to wildfire and minimize its negative impacts. The Town of Hinton continues to support FireSmart initiatives throughout the town and has assembled a group of FireSmart Volunteers.

• A FireSmart Open House was held at the Hinton Centre on February 8, 2025, and another is being planned for Fall.
  Hinton Fire Rescue is working on a FireSmart Utility Trailer that will be equiped with tools for community FireSmart activities. Volunteer Firefighters who have completed their FireSmart Ambassador course will be trained on home assessments.

In the 2025 Town of Hinton budget, Council approved $100,000 for FireSmart initiatives. These funds will be strategically allocated based on the outcome of grants. Additionally, The Town has applied for a $45,000 grant from Wawanesa Insurance which would pay for portable signs to keep the community informed on FireSmart initiatives, and a $200,000 grant from Intact Insurance Climate Resilience which would pay for home assessments, sprinklers, and workbees.
Once funding is approved, forms will be available for residents to register for FireSmart home inspections. Check back for updates.

Vegetation Management
The goal of vegetation management is to create a fuel-reduced buffer between structures and flammable wildland vegetation to reduce the intensity and rate of spread of wildfire approaching or leaving the development.
Hinton Fire Rescue will work with local forest crews to conduct hazard reduction burns in the spring.

• April 2025, Town of Hinton Fire Rescue Department in partnership with Wildfire Management Specialists conducted a successful hazard reduction burn at Mary Reimer Park. The purpose of the burn was reduce the build-up of cured grass, which poses a significant fire hazard in this area. By removing these fuels, the Town aims to lower the chance of grass fires igniting and spreading—particularly into nearby forested areas and residential neighbourhoods.

The Town of Hinton has applied for grants from FRIAA to FireSmart (reduce combustible vegetation) from high hazard areas including Switzer Drive, Reimer Drive, and Willow Creek Road.

Municipal Staff and Firefighter Preparedness
Town of Hinton employees who serve in the Emergency Coordination Centre (ECC) during an emergency, are regularly trained in Emergency Preparedness. Every year, staff take refresher and new Incident Command System (ICS) training, the Canada-wide command and control structure used to help manage emergency incidents and planned events. In addition, Firefighters from Hinton Fire Rescue have participated in Wildland Firefighter training, Wildland Urban Interface Training, and ICS training, as well as the FireSmart Ambassador Course, and power saw course which trains them to identify danger trees.

• The Town has been awarded a $1,090,000 grant from the Province of Alberta to hire and host a team of specialist firefighters for the next two years. Four new full-time firefighters have been hired for the Hinton Fire Rescue WUI team. These firefighters will play an integral role in Hinton’s ongoing efforts to support wildfire management across Alberta, collaborating with the Government of Alberta.
• On Saturday, May 3, 2025, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Town of Hinton, in partnership with emergency services, will be conducting a mock emergency evacuation drill in the Hillcrest Evacuation Zone.
• Staff have been trained through Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA) to issue Emergency Alerts in our region.