Mike May is a wildfire management and prevention expert with over 15 years of experience in fire prevention and operations. He specializes in fire investigation, aircraft management and advanced wildland fire behavior.
As an expert for the Technical Assistance Partnership (TAP) initiative, Mike and another Canadian expert Jane Park are working in collaboration with the Government of Bolivia’s Ministry of Environment and Water (MMAyA), the National Protected Areas Service (SERNAP), the Vice-Ministry of Civil Defense and the Joint Command for Reaction to Adverse Emergencies of the Armed Forces (CC-REA). They will provide technical assistance through training, sharing best practices and lessons learned to support the management of forest fires in protected areas and indigenous territories in the Bolivian Amazon and adjacent forest ecosystems.
Passionate about aerial fire management and utilizing ignition to manage wildfire, through his work, Mike is determined to make people understand that not all ecosystems are the same. Mike trained South African Firefighters in Alberta’s water delivery methods, helped manage the floods in High River, Alberta and assisted the Australian RFS during the fire outbreak of 2019 and 2020. Sharing knowledge will enable other countries to use technology and different strategies that work in their environments.
Based in Alberta, Canada, Mike is a Senior Wildfire Training Specialist at Alberta’s Provincial Training Centre and leads the Province’s Incident Management Team as Incident Commander. He received his master instructor designation from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. Mike is a certified Incident Commander II, an Ignition Specialist, and an Incident Command System trainer. He holds a diploma in Forest Technology from Sir Sanford Fleming School of Natural Resources.