Assessing telecommunication vulnerabilities to wildfire in Alberta, Canada

Abstract

Wildfires can pose profound threats to public safety. During escalated wildfire situations, communication among responding agencies is critically important, as is communication with the affected public. Telecommunication vulnerabilities to wildfire have been largely ignored in fire risk assessment and human dimensions research. This study provides the first comprehensive assessment of telecommunications vulnerabilities to wildfire within a Canadian province. By integrating line-of-sight cellular coverage data with wildfire exposure metrics, we identified regions in Alberta's Forest Protection Area (FPA) at heightened risk due to limited access to reliable communications during emergencies. A directional vulnerability analysis highlighted the telecommunications infrastructure most at risk. Service demand areas (i.e., road and trail networks) prone to cellular coverage gaps were used to assess public safety implications. A patchwork of cellular coverage intersects 52 % of the Forest Protection Area, heavily influenced by population distribution and hindered by terrain. Over 20 % of the FPA land area was found to lack telecommunications coverage in conjunction with high fire exposure, posing significant challenges for public safety and wildfire management. Telecommunications towers were frequently identified as extremely vulnerable to wildfire (n = 186) and individual towers are vulnerable to hundreds of potential fire pathways, highlighting critical infrastructure at risk. Expansive areas along roadways and trail systems lack cell phone coverage in addition to being exposed to potential wildfire, posing a threat to public safety. These findings may inform future wildfire preparedness and mitigation plans, fuel reduction treatments, and telecommunications infrastructure improvements.