Jasper to commemorate 1 year since wildfire ripped through townsite
Jasper report prompted provincial response
Jasper officials and residents are gearing up to mark the one-year anniversary of the wildfire that destroyed one-third of the town's structures.
Last summer, several fires burning in the national park flared dangerously, forcing thousands of people, including 5,000 residents of Jasper, to evacuate the national park.
Within a day, a fire burning south of Jasper drew close, entering the community on the evening of July 24.
One year after the fire moved in, the mountain community remains in recovery.
Parks Canada is conducting a formal review of the fire and response, which is not yet public.
Last week, Jasper published its own review based on surveys and interviews with more than 300 firefighters and other emergency personnel.
Jasper's report said the overall response to the wildfire was a success, but noted some issues were caused by the Alberta government trying to get more involved in a decision-making capacity.
The report prompted Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to demand an apology and retraction of the report, saying her government is not to blame.
The municipality released a statement responding to the premier's demand on Monday, reiterating that the report was meant to observe and reflect on the emergency planning framework.
"We take exception to the politicization of the After-Action Review and its observations, especially in the media. Jasper is committed to transparency and constructive reflection, and we believe emergency response deserves thoughtful dialogue— not division," it read.
"Unfortunately, much of the recent media coverage has narrowly focused on a single sentence within a 50-page report. That isolated passage does not reflect the broader findings or the spirit of the After-Action Review."
The statement did not offer an apology to the premier, but did recognize the province's role in responding to the fire, and providing critical support after.
Shortly after it was released, Jasper's Mayor Richard Ireland, responded to questions about the statement in a news conference.
"We don't doubt the report at all. It was not intended to ascribe blame, it does not ascribe blame. It is not a political instrument. Our regret is that it has been used as a political instrument," he said.
Premier Danielle Smith shared her own response to Jasper's statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"In their statement, the municipality of Jasper is clear that they recognize and value the essential role that the province played, both during the response and throughout the recovery process," she wrote.
"This includes the deploying wildfire response teams, delivering emergency financial assistance, and helping restore critical infrastructure and services."
Moving forward with recommendations
Jasper's fire chief, Mathew Conte, said the fire department is already taking steps to hash out some of the recommendations from the after-action report.
He said one thing the department is already working on is mental health resources for personnel.
"When you go through something like this, it can be quite isolating for people who don't really understand what those guys went through that night," he said.
Firefighter Morgan Kitchen, a 24-year-old man from Calgary, died as crews continued to battle the fire for weeks after the initial damage was done.
The department hired a psychologist for current staff members, and is providing mental health assessments and supports for new recruits.
The municipality and Parks Canada are also working on some of the recommendations from the report, by amping up fire prevention efforts.
Around two kilometres from town, a 60 hectare block of land is now a designated fire buffer zone.
David Argument, the resource conservation manager with Parks Canada in Jasper, said crews are working to remove trees and vegetation that pose a particular fire risk — that includes lodgepole pine trees, which were in part responsible for spreading the fire so quickly.
"What we're trying to do is provide the zone of protection where fire crews can get in and address a ground fire," he said.
"A ground fire is a lot easier for us to manage ... the crown fire and high intensity fire is really what we're trying to manage, that's what produces an ember shower that threatens a community like Jasper."
Still rebuilding
Efforts to rebuild have been steady, but slow.
Rebuilding what was lost to the flames is expected to take years but signs of recovery are visible. Rubble has been cleared away and hollow plots once filled with blackened foundations are now being backfilled with soil and readied for construction.
"Jasper has never experienced the level of construction activity that's going to take place over the next several years," says Doug Olthof, acting director of the Jasper Recovery Coordination Centre.
Only the lilac bushes in front of his house were singed by the fire. Across the street, an entire row of houses was destroyed.
"Some days what you're looking at is progress towards recovery," he says of the daily view from his doorstep.
"Other days, it's just very sad."
He says he expects the full residential rebuild will take five to 10 years.
So far, 114 properties have been cleared for construction while 71 remain held up by soil-testing requirements for contaminants, says the municipality's latest update to council.
Development permits have been issued to 40 fire-impacted homes, along with a handful of multiplexes, hotels, commercial properties and others, says the report from July 8.
Hard lessons for community scattered around Canada
Back in Jasper, no two assessments of the municipality are the same. Oliver Andrew, manager of the century-old Astoria Hotel on Jasper's main drag, says his community is stronger than ever. But the lifelong Jasperite says some friends have decided to leave for good.
Big changes are coming for the 35-room boutique hotel. Andrew has decided the hotel's cedar shake roof — a highly flammable material featured on several of the homes lost in the fire — is soon to be replaced with a fireproof material.
Though progress is slow, Andrew said the fire has encouraged the municipality to embrace a rebuild that will help fireproof the community and address long-standing issues, including its zero per cent vacancy rate.
Nancy Addison, on the other hand, is still waiting for a house to come home to, one year after a wildfire raged through Jasper, Alta.
Her home was one of 358 structures that were destroyed by the fire.
"It makes you feel very far away, without support when you're … moving from place to place," Addison said.
"That stings the heart. My sense of community is strong, but there are lots of people who won't come back."
Addison is currently staying in a cabin at Riding Mountain National Park, after moving between Vancouver, Ottawa and Revelstoke, B.C., to live with friends and family.
She is working with a builder to design a new home, which she hopes will be complete in two years.
For now, Addison said she feels thankful for what she has but is looking forward to the day she can return home for good.
"I'm learning to live with less," she said. "You just don't need very much to survive.
"But you do need people and you do need community and you do need hope."
A week of activities are planned to bring the community together, including painting workshops, an online talking circle for displaced residents and live music.
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With files from CBC's Emily Williams, Julia Wong and The Canadian Press
