Mr. Speaker, as we reflect on the 2024 wildfire season, we are reminded of the challenges we faced, including those we have lost protecting the Northwest Territories. I would like to start by honouring the memory of pilot Tom Frith, who made the ultimate sacrifice while working to safeguard the community of Fort Good Hope this summer. His selfless dedication is an example of the courage and commitment exemplified by the wildfire management team. To Tom's family, friends and colleagues, our hearts are with you, and we share in your grief. His legacy will continue to inspire us.
I also want to remember firefighter Adam Yeadon, who lost his life in the line of duty in 2023. This year, Adam's name was enshrined at the Fallen Firefighters National Memorial in Ottawa, ensuring that his sacrifice will never be forgotten. These losses weigh heavily on our hearts, serving as stark reminders of the very real challenges and dangers firefighters and other wildfire management professionals face as they work to protect NWT communities. Furthermore, the extreme fire seasons in 2023 and 2024 underscored the challenging nature of their work and the remarkable perseverance they display in the face of adversity and loss. Despite another extremely challenging fire season, the teams have demonstrated their dedication to protecting the residents of the NWT and the things we value.
Mr. Speaker, forecasts for the 2024 season predicted another challenging wildfire season, with severe to extreme drought continuing across the territory. In preparation for this year's response, the Department of Environment and Climate Change applied the lessons learned from 2023 to be ready for the new reality of wildfires in a changing climate. To enhance our readiness, we invested in more air support, bringing on an additional long-term helicopter and more air tankers to support our response. We brought crews, equipment, and other resources on earlier to be ready for the season. Mr. Speaker, these efforts paid off very early in the season with the successful containment of a fire southwest of Fort Liard.
In addition to this work, we enhanced our fire intelligence capabilities by improving fire modeling and using large-scale infrared scanning to ensure we had the information needed to start the season.
Throughout the season, 1.7 million hectares of land burned in the Northwest Territories, the most within any single jurisdiction in Canada and well above the territory's 10-year average. But with the hard work and dedication of firefighters, fire managers, specialists, communities, local departments, brigades and local community partners, we were able to protect hundreds of homes and cabins across the NWT.
Mr. Speaker, the review of 2023 wildfire response operations recognized the good work of our wildfire management program and also highlighted the need to expand efforts in wildfire prevention and mitigation. Our government has made these investments, and they are already paying off.
We established a wildfire prevention and mitigation section with three new positions. This new team established and delivered the FireSmart Advanced Home Assessment program across the territory. Through this program, more than 100 residents received help from FireSmart experts to assess their homes and properties, to ensure more homes in the NWT are FireSmart. We cross-trained five community fire departments to begin offering the program locally and to help build wildfire preparedness capacity within local governments. Our prevention and mitigation teams also completed nearly 70 FireSmart events and activities, going to schools, community events, and neighborhoods across the territory to help educate residents. We also worked with community governments to review, update, and improve their community wildfire protection plans, and with the NWT Association of Communities to support local community fuel reduction and removal projects through a $20 million investment from the federal Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Program.
Mr. Speaker, the NWT was proud to help out some of our neighbours this summer, sending crews to British Columbia, Alberta, and Oregon through the same mutual aid agreements that benefitted us in 2023. In doing so, our crews provided essential support in other jurisdictions' time of need, and our firefighters gained invaluable knowledge and experience from their counterparts in these agencies.
Mr. Speaker, planning and preparing for wildfires is a year-round job. This offseason, we will continue to work towards implementing the recommendations outlined in the 2023 wildfire response review as part of our ongoing commitment to continual improvement. To help us do this, the Government of the Northwest Territories has requested $30 million from the Government of Canada to support our efforts given the challenges we face from a changing wildfire environment amidst a changing climate.
In closing, Mr. Speaker, we will continue to invest in our wildfire management program and team to ensure we are ready to face the challenge of future wildfires, which include enhanced work on fuel breaks, training and cross-training, planning, and preparedness.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, we will continue to work with communities, Indigenous governments, and Indigenous organizations in true partnership to ensure we are all listening, learning, and planning together for future success. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Ministers' statements. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
