FireSmart

Weather maps hang on the walls and precipitation reports flash across screens in the Winnipeg office where major decisions about Canada’s battle against an unprecedented wildfire season are made.

The fire department in Slave Lake, Alta., had a long-standing plan for tackling wildfire encroaching on the community, but in May 2011, flames from a nearby forest blew over suppression efforts and destroyed several hundred homes and other buildings.

The fire in Logan Lake started like so many others in B.C.'s worst wildfire season on record — a smouldering campfire, not fully extinguished, sparked flames that spread across the forest floor.