With Jasper's devastation in mind, Alberta communities gear up for wildfire season
Firebreaks, training and gear key to wildfire prevention efforts in nearby communities
Memories of the destruction wrought by a wildfire that roared through Jasper National Park last summer are fuelling wildfire prevention efforts across the region.
The July 2024 wildfire destroyed one-third of the structures in Jasper's historic townsite, 365 kilometres west of Edmonton.
"The situation we watched last summer was absolutely devastating," says Nicholas Nissen, mayor of Hinton, Alta., a town 80 kilometres east of Jasper.
Since then, many displaced Jasperites have been calling the town of 10,000 home.
"I'm certain those people feel nervous when they look out at a big forest and see a summer coming."
That's part of the reason Nissen says they're digging in this spring to prepare for the worst by reinforcing the firebreak south of town.
"You can see around us — the grass grows, the shrubs grow, the trees grow up so those firebreaks need to be re-done," Nissen said this week, pointing to a machine mulching the 58-hectare fireguard.
Hinton's fire chief, Jim Smith, said he's "feeling really good" about above-average moisture levels this winter. However, he notes that things are already heating up.
"A couple days ago we had seven fires, six of those were wildland fires," he says, "One after another, one after another. And then at the end of it, we had a train on fire on rails," Smith said.
Earlier this month, officials with Alberta Wildfire predicted an average season and Todd Loewen, minister of forestry and parks, said he was "cautiously optimistic." Nonetheless, provincial fire crews and volunteer firefighters are gearing up and training up.
"It doesn't matter what type of year it is," said Tyler Olsen, reeve of the Municipal District of Greenview, located north of Jasper National Park. "When you're surrounded by trees there's always that risk."
Olsen is based in Grande Cache, Alta., a community of 3,200 located about 200 kilometres northwest of the Jasper townsite.
He has spent half his life as a volunteer firefighter on the front lines and said he felt "spoiled" with Grand Cache's gear and its station, which was built in 2020. "We just got a new sprinkler trailer this year so that brings the total up to three."
The other thing Olsen says they have going for them is friendships forged while fighting wildfires across the province.
"We were in Fox Creek, Edson, High Level, all those places. You know that they, on the drop of a hat, when they hear Grande Cache, they'll be here."
Olsen said the crew from Grande Cache had a hand in saving the area around the Jasper Park Lodge last summer.
David Argument, the resource conservation manager with Parks Canada in Jasper, said crews have been on the ground all winter. The goal, he said, is to interrupt how fire could spread in the park this season.
He said crews have cleared two large blocks, about 116 hectares in total, located west of town. "Logging equipment is removing all standing pine and spruce, which are a fire-prone species," Argument said.
They're leaving Douglas fir and Aspen stands, which Argument called "very fire resistant, or fire resilient, species."
Argument also said there are two initial attack teams, or eight people, plus an additional 20 Parks Canada staff members ready to fight fires. As well, they know they can rely on about 30 volunteers with the Jasper Volunteer Fire Brigade if need be.
Argument said that, as a Jasperite, he is at times still caught by the tragedy of the situation and the long recovery road ahead.
"But at the same time. We're going to see it green up this spring and it's going to be really interesting to watch."
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