A southeastern community is already gearing up for Manitoba’s next wildfire season with new equipment, more firefighting training, and a new way to warn residents of evacuations. In the RM of Piney, wildfires are the number one risk in the area, the municipality’s CAO Martin Van Osch told CTV News. “About 75 per cent of our municipality is public land, Crown land, forested with the jack pine forest, which, given certain conditions, is highly flammable,” Van Osch said. In May 2025, an out-of-control wildfire forced hundreds of Piney residents to evacuate the area - the start of what became the worst wildfire season Manitoba has seen in decades. That’s why Van Osch said the rural municipality is earmarking just over $1 million, (more than a quarter of its total budget), towards wildfire preparedness. “Next to roads and bridges, it is the area that we invest the most in,” Van Osch said. New water tanker, drone, and more firefighter training Part of that money is going towards the purchase of a new 3,000-gallon water tanker—a critical piece of firefighting equipment in the rural area. “We don’t have hydrants within our municipality, so everything needs to be truck-hauled to where the fire is,” Van Osch said. He said the municipality hopes to get the tanker this year but doesn’t expect to have it in time for the start of wildfire season, which can begin as early as April in the region. The RM, with the help of a provincial grant, also purchased a new drone to help firefighters battle wildfires. The drone will be equipped with a thermal imaging camera to identify hotspots to give firefighters an aerial view of the flames. Along with this, the RM is looking to train another 40 firefighters in wildfire management. Van Osch notes this is in addition to 20 firefighters trained last year—all thanks to a $300,000 federal grant. Phone alerts for residents facing evacuation The RM is also looking to improve communication with residents when it comes to wildfires. Following the 2025 wildfire and evacuation, Van Osch said the municipality had a ‘debrief’ with residents. One of the key takeaways was a call for improved communication, he recalled. This prompted the RM to approach the province late last year, requesting to join Manitoba’s Alert Ready program. This will allow the RM to send emergency notifications to residents in an affected area. “This is a great improvement for our municipality,” Van Osch said. “Every emergency that I’ve been through, communication is one of those things that we struggle with.” He said part of the process requires the municipality to adopt an agreement with the province to participate. Van Osch said the target is to have the alerts ready to go for the spring.
