Alberta saw fewer wildfires this year, despite the hot and dry conditions.

Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry says our expert staff and firefighters had a big hand in keeping fires at bay.

"Our world-class wildland firefighting staff have worked diligently to keep Albertans and their communities safe. Despite seeing more wildfires than average starting over the dry spring and summer months, our expert staff were very successful in managing the fires, leading to less forest area being burned"

This year the province saw a total of 1,307 wildfires that burned about 52,955 hectares of land.

That's relatively low compared to the average of 1,123 wildfires burning 317,326 hectares of land between 2016 and 2020.

Thanks to the quiet season, Alberta firefighters were able to assist other provinces and sent 111 firefighters to BC and 250 to Ontario.

62% of this year's fires were still due to human activities, including campfires left unattended, burning debris, sparks from off-highway vehicles, and arson.

About 33% were from lightning strikes and the remainder are still under investigation.

The province tested the use of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) to help manage wildfires, and say the test flights were completed successfully.

They also experimented with the use of water-enhancing gel and applied nearly two million litres to fire areas.

Officials say fire danger has decreased, however, it is still important to be cautious with continuing dry conditions throughout winter.