Alberta communities share $1.2M for wildfires

Almost two dozen communities will share nearly $1.2 million from the Alberta government to help protect them from forest fires.

The money is intended to finance projects such as tree thinning to reduce the risk of wildfires.

Included in the funding is a one-time grant to the County of Grande Prairie to remove dead trees that have been killed by mountain pine beetles.

Frank Oberle, minister of sustainable resources, says there are hundreds of Alberta communities that are at risk because they are in forested areas.

There were 1,200 fires this year that burned through almost 9,500 square kilometres and threatened several communities.

The most damage was in Slave Lake where a mid-May fire destroyed one-third of the town and hundreds of homes and businesses.