Alberta government accepts emergency response recommendations from Slave Lake review

The Alberta government is promising to improve its disaster response and emergency planning based on recommendations from an independent report on the handling of the May 2011 Slave Lake wildfires.

The 237-page report from KPMG looked at how the devastating fires were handled in terms of response and recovery efforts in the first three months after the fires, and set out 19 recommendations for the government to improve its methods.

Read the full report: Lessons Learned Report: Building on our Strengths

The recommendations touched on preparedness, communication, financial support and health issues, among others.

For example, the recommendations set out steps the provincial government could take to streamline disaster response, recovery efforts and coordination of donations. The report also recommended improving local communities’ emergency preparedness.

“Any time there is a significant disaster, it is prudent to do a post-operational review,” Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths noted in a government statement. “This report does just that, allowing our province to be more prepared for future disasters.”

Resources from emergency response organizations across Canada, Alberta municipalities, volunteers and non-government organizations and the provincial government were all used for response and recovery efforts for the Slave Lake disaster, the government noted.

The Alberta government itself committed about $289 million, including staff resources, to the disaster response and recovery, its statement noted.

“We have accepted all recommendations in the report and are working with other government departments, their partners and stakeholders to address them. Many are already implemented or in process of being implemented,” Griffiths said.

Lessons learned included in the report related to evacuations, reception centre coordination, and re-entry have already been applied to recent events, including the Mackenzie County fires in northern Alberta last year, the government noted.

The province’s emergency alert system has also been upgraded, and the Emergency Management Act has also been amended to help local authorities have better regional emergency management plans.