Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo: Lessons learned and recommendations from the 2016 Horse River wildfire

This report assesses the continued efforts made by the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) to enhance emergency management capabilities, to identify successful lessons learned and to capture recommendations emerging from this lessons learned review of the May 2016 Horse River Wildfire. The report is intended to assist the RMWB, its emergency management partners, and other municipalities who may learn from the RMWB’s experience to be better prepared for future emergency events.

KPMG used a formal evaluation framework to conduct this lessons learned review. The framework is based on recognized emergency management, response, and recovery standards. The framework reflects an all hazards approach to emergency management and can be used for lessons learned reviews and post-incident assessments at the program, phase, and process level.