Officials say it's too early to tell as the season can turn on a dime.

Some regard May as the worst month of fire season, which generally starts on April 1 and typically ends on Oct. 31.

Last year, there were almost 2,000 wildfires in Alberta's Forest Protection Area, burning more than 118,000 hectares of land - an area roughly twice the size of Edmonton. Of those fires, less than half were caused by lightning strikes. The majority were caused by people.

"It's so tough to try and predict weather in Alberta," says Darcy Whiteside, a spokes-man for Alberta Sustainable Resource Development.

Photo courtesy Millar Western Forest Products
The Millar Western helitack crew is ready to gear up their chopper at the first sign of a wildfire.

"But it looks like April is going be pretty quiet," he adds, pointing to recent amount of precipitation across the province.

The fire situation is also dependent on the spring runoff and how fast the greening of the forest occurs, says Whiteside. If the snow evaporates too quickly, grass will remain brown and become a fire hazard. If the snow melts slowly, combined with spring showers, the greenup lowers the amount of wildfires expected early - at least early in the season.

"Typically, April tells the tale," says Mark Handel, forest protection co-ordinator for Millar Western Forest Products Ltd., a company which oversees about 300,000 hectares in its forestry management area (FMA) northwest of Whitecourt.

"In April, if there's an adequate amount of precipitation to produce an early greenup of vegetation, that dramatically reduces wildfire severity."

But if April has been especially dry and the seasonal May winds kick into action, the situation can rapidly deteriorate, he adds. June tends to bring a little more moisture, while August and early fall can bring another drying trend.

Handel is quite experienced with wildfires, having worked on Millar Western's helitack crew - otherwise known as the helicopter-assisted fire attack crew. The team consists of a primary crew and a backup auxiliary crew, each with three people, that works to detect and suppress fires in their earliest stages.

The helitack crew carries axes, shovels and water pumps, and the helicopter is equipped with a special collapsible water bucket that attaches to the bottom of the 'copter.

Alberta Wildfire information officer Rob Harris says the province will use anywhere from a couple of hundred firefighters to as many as 600 in a typical season.

"We man-up based on the fire hazard," he says.

"We pre-position our firefighters and our equipment based on the fire hazard in the province. We monitor the situation daily. We distribute our resources based on what the picture is. As the hazard conditions change throughout the hazard protection area, we will move our resources accordingly."

Alberta's booming economy hasn't yet hampered efforts to recruit and retain firefighters.

"The nature of the work is very exciting, it's a very unique job that we offer," says Harris. "People get to see all parts of the province and are outdoors."

Fire, adds Harris, is not necessarily a bad thing, because it has a regenerative effect in Alberta's forests.

"With species like the lodgepole pine, fire actually opens up the cones and allows its new seeds to spread," says Harris. "It also plays a role in evening out the age of Alberta's forests."

As forests grow older, they become more susceptible to disease and pest infestation.

"Fire plays a very critical role in that respect as it helps to bring back the diversity of the age class," says Harris. "It (fire) truly is a double-edged sword."

If anyone spots a forest wildfire, a toll-free reporting line is available at 310-FIRE.

(Laura Severs can be reached at laura@businessedge.ca)