Ontario increasing wildland fire fighting capacity

Oct. 17, 2024, Ontario — The governments of Ontario and Canada are investing $64 million to strengthen the province’s wildland fire program.

The funding will enhance Ontario’s fire fighting abilities, allowing the province to hire and train personnel and fund the purchase of new support equipment and technology, the province reported in a press release.

Ontario will contract the services of four medium helicopters to support fire suppression, increasing the provinces number of contracted helicopters to 13.

In addition, 100 additional permanent positions in the wildland fire program will be created, and $5 million will go towards attracting and retaining wildland fire fighting staff.

“Our government is making critical investments in our wildland fire program – on the ground and in the air – to keep Ontario at the leading edge of wildland fire fighting,” said Graydon Smith, minister of natural resources, in a media statement.