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Buck Creek Wildfire review going ahead

Sept. 7, 2023, Buck Creek, Alta. – A third party organization is to conduct a review of the handling of the Buck Creek Wildfire.

On Tuesday Brazeau county council approved funding for an after action review. According to information provided to council, the purpose of the review is to “identify and understand strengths, as well as areas for improvement. Information gathered will be used to inform future emergency response training, process improvement, recovery documentation, and firefighter strategy.”

The review will include interviews with key personnel involved in the Emergency Operations Centre, along with executive leadership and fire department staff. It will also include feedback from representatives of partner agencies such as the RCMP and Family and Community Support Services.

Brazeau County CAO Kent Edney said the review would focus on those who’d had their boots on the ground and played an active role in handling the emergency. The intent of conducting the review was to determine which areas had performed well and where things could be better managed in the event of a similar emergency in the future.

Council approved a budget of $28,352 for the review. It’s expected the Town of Drayton Valley will share that cost on a 50/50 basis. The two municipalities worked together closely during the fire and the accompanying evacuation. However, a formal decision on funding has yet to come before town council.

Also this week, a contractor was set to perform low level drone scans of the area impacted by the fire in order to detect any remaining hotspots and ensure it was completely extinguished.