When wildfires began rapidly spreading across Manitoba in May — the start of a fire season that forced 32,000 out of their homes — the province was short dozens of fire rangers, and 25 per cent of its wildfire division positions were vacant, CBC has learned.
The numbers, obtained by CBC News through freedom of information laws, show on May 12, roughly one in four full-time positions within the Wildfire Service were vacant, and a further 64 seasonal fire ranger positions hadn’t been filled.
The 15 full-time vacancies included three fire managers, six fire operations managers and a regional fire technician.
Operations managers are responsible for "key aspects" of the province's wildfire management program in areas like prevention, detection and fire suppression operations, according to a descri
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