Canmore Approves $3.66M Fireguard Expansion Along Southern Boundary

Canmore has conditionally approved a $3.66-million capital project to construct the next major section of the Bow Valley Community Fireguard, expanding the town's wildfire defences.

Council unanimously approved the South Boundary Community Fireguard project June 30. The project will be funded through a proposed $2,770,445 grant from the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta and $886,384 in anticipated timber revenue. If provincial funding is confirmed, construction is expected to begin in August.

"Wildfire continues to remain the top rated hazard to life, property and critical infrastructure within the Bow Valley," Fire Chief Shawn Polley told council.

The project will create a roughly 150-metre-wide fuel-reduction zone stretching about 15 kilometres from behind the Peaks of Grassi neighbourhood to Dead Man's Flats, covering approximately 291 hectares along Canmore's southern boundary. Trees and other vegetation will be strategically removed or thinned to help slow the spread of wildfire and provide firefighters with a safer area to defend the community. It is the third phase of the Bow Valley Community Fireguard.

Polley said crews have already completed harvesting and land reclamation in the Stoneworks Creek, Harvie Heights, East Parks Gate and Canmore Nordic Centre east and west fireguard blocks since construction began in November 2024. After trees are harvested, crews return to thin and prune remaining vegetation, remove debris, reclaim temporary roads and reseed disturbed areas.

The south boundary project will include about 176 hectares of mechanical harvesting, with another 113 hectares thinned, pruned and cleaned by hand in steep or environmentally sensitive areas where machinery cannot operate.

Rather than creating a continuous clear-cut, the fireguard will connect natural and developed features, including the Rundle Forebay Reservoir, the Bow River, AltaLink's transmission corridor, Stewart Creek Golf Course and existing wildlife habitat enhancement areas to form a continuous fuel-reduction corridor along Canmore's southern boundary.

"The fireguard width was designed to be wide enough to provide a containment line to support response agencies to work through and within wildfire contained areas to help protect the values at risk," Polley said. "This guard balances the limitations encountered by steep slopes, watercourses, recreational trails, and of course, our important wildlife corridors."

Harvesting is expected to continue through the fall and winter of 2026 and 2027, followed by thinning, pruning and cleanup in 2027 and 2028. Woody debris generated during the work will be piled, allowed to cure and then burned before roads are reclaimed and disturbed areas are reseeded.

Councillors questioned how smoke from future pile burning would affect nearby residents, whether alternatives to burning had been explored and how the town planned to notify the public before burns take place. They also sought assurances about what residents living beside the fireguard could expect once construction is complete.

Polley said the finished project would resemble the fuel reduction work already visible near the Canmore Nordic Centre rather than extensive tree clearing.

"The project will look very similar to how the presentation is at the Canmore Nordic Centre when you look at the Grassi Lakes parking lot and you're parked there and you're looking up into the fire guard," he said. "The harvesting will be thin, prune, clean in adjacent areas and buffers where necessary and important."

Beyond reducing wildfire risk, the project is also expected to improve wildlife habitat. Biologists have said similar fireguards around Canmore recreate the open forests, grasses and berry-producing shrubs lost after more than a century of fire suppression, improving habitat for species such as elk and grizzly bears while potentially reducing human-wildlife conflict near town.

Polley said wildlife habitat enhancement has been incorporated into the project through a partnership with Alberta Parks.

Mayor Sean Krausert said the recent flooding in Cougar Creek highlighted why communities must continue investing in hazard mitigation before disasters occur.

"I think the last few days have shown us the importance of investing in emergency mitigations," Krausert said. "While they don't prevent all damage, they certainly prevent a lot of damage. We have to just keep going to make our community safer and safer."

He said the Cougar Creek debris retention structures helped reduce damage during the recent flooding, adding that the fireguard represents the same kind of long-term investment in community resilience against what officials continue to identify as Canmore's greatest natural hazard.