Alberta emergency management officials put their disaster response systems to the test Thursday during a comprehensive training exercise that simulated wildfires in the north and flooding in the south.
The Emergency Management Exercise 2026 (EMX 26) brought together dozens of agencies at the Provincial Emergency Co-ordination Centre in Edmonton, creating a realistic but controlled environment to prepare for the challenges that lie ahead in wildfire season.
Stephen Lacroix, managing director of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, said the exercise reflects the harsh reality that Alberta faces some of the most severe natural disasters in Canada.
"We were built on the shoulders of very significant, traumatic natural disasters in this province," Lacroix told reporters during the exercise.
The training exercise featured participants wearing colour-coded vests to coordinate province-wide emergency responses — yellow for logistics, grey for finance, red for operations, and blue for planning. Representatives from provincial ministries worked alongside federal partners, the Canadian Armed Forces, RCMP, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Public Safety Canada, and Indigenous Services.
Learning from Past Disasters
Lacroix pointed to Alberta's devastating history of natural disasters that shaped the province's emergency response capabilities, including the Slave Lake fire in 2011, southern Alberta floods in 2013, the Fort McMurray fires in 2016, massive northern Alberta floods in 2020, and the 2.2 million acres burned in wildfires during 2023.
The destruction of one-third of Jasper in 2024 serves as the most recent reminder of nature's destructive power and the critical importance of coordinated emergency response.
Mock reports flowed into the Emergency Management Agency's Provincial Emergency Co-ordination Centre at the Muriel Stanley Venne Provincial Centre as participants tracked evolving scenarios and coordinated multi-agency responses.
Community Preparedness Focus
For Calgary and southern Alberta residents, the exercise underscores the importance of community-level emergency preparedness. Local emergency services work closely with provincial agencies to ensure coordinated responses during natural disasters.
The training comes as Alberta prepares for another potentially challenging wildfire season, with agencies across the province working to ensure they can effectively protect communities and coordinate evacuations when necessary.
Residents can stay informed about emergency preparedness and local conditions through official channels, including Calgary Forums where community members share real-time updates during emergency situations.
This story is based on reporting by David Chen in the Edmonton Journal. Read the original story here.
