Smith Asks Trudeau for Help With Jasper Recovery During Alberta Visit

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith meet with wildfire workers while visiting the wildfire command centre in Hinton, Alta., on Aug. 5, 2024. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson)

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to put measures in place to help Jasper residents and businesses recover from the wildfire that has ravaged the mountain town.

The request came after the prime minister’s visit to the unified command centre in Hinton, Alta., on Aug. 5, where Trudeau and Smith received a briefing on the wildfires which have merged into one blaze dubbed “the Jasper Wildfire Complex.”

Trudeau also met with fire crews but did not speak to the media afterwards.

Smith told reporters she has asked Ottawa to help fund land planning to speed up the redevelopment process in Jasper, which is the townsite of Jasper National Park.

“Right now, it’s estimated that upward of 350 residential structures have been lost within the Jasper municipal boundaries,” she said during a virtual press conference.

“Temporary housing will be an overriding priority once residents begin to return, and it will be essential for the federal government to be as flexible as possible, to keep housing sited within the town site, or to be flexible on the boundaries of the town site.”

She is also asking the federal government to provide an emergency wage subsidy and suspend business lease payments. She said the measures would help businesses avoid layoffs and allow the owners to focus on rebuilding and reopening as quickly as possible.

The premier also asked Ottawa to consider additional federal funding under the $4 billion housing accelerator fund to help Jasper take on additional land planning responsibilities.

“Increased local control and resourcing will be crucial to speed up the redevelopment process,” she said. “They were already in the process of doing this, but this should be an opportunity to accelerate that local decision making.”

Jasper Residents Visit Town

Sixty-two residents were taken by bus into Jasper Aug. 5 to see the damage caused by last month’s wildfire that destroyed roughly one-third of the town. One of the buses left from Edmonton and two departed from Hinton.

The tours, originally planned for the day prior, were postponed due to the weekend death of a firefighter who was battling the blaze. The 24-year-old Calgary resident, whose identity has not been released, died Aug. 3 after a tree fell on him.

Although residents are not allowed to exit the bus for safety reasons, the tours give residents a chance to take stock of the damage to their homes. Mental health workers were also on the buses to help residents process their losses.

Smith, who has met with some residents, said she has been impressed with the fortitude shown by home and business owners who have lost everything.

“There’s a real sense of, ‘let’s get on with this. Let’s get rebuilding.’ And I think there’s a lot of real hope, especially since the main infrastructure in the town is still standing.”

She recounted the story of a couple who runs a local ice cream store.

“They had a 1928 home that got burnt down in a fire a few years ago. They had just rebuilt, and it got burnt down again,” she said. “They were in surprisingly good spirits [and] they’re keen to rebuild, but that’s a double tragedy they’ve faced in the last few years.”

Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis said further bus trips will be planned during the coming days based on the number of registrations received.

“We understand these tours are a critical component of the healing and recovery process, and we’re going to make sure that all Jasper residents affected by the fires have a chance to tour the community prior to reentry,” he said during the press conference. “This is contingent on conditions remaining safe enough for the tours, as safety will always be our government’s first priority.”

Emergency services and power to the downtown, the hospital, and water treatment plant have all been restored, he said.

Wildfire Update

Jasper’s 4,700 residents and thousands of visitor were evacuated July 22 when a wildfire approaching from the south placed the town at risk. Now known as the Jasper Wildfire Complex, the blaze currently encompasses 34,000 hectares, Alberta Wildfire information unit manager Christie Tucker said.

Rain overnight Aug. 4 and cooler temperatures Aug. 5, kept the fire from significant growth over the civic holiday weekend, Tucker said.

“Firefighters are taking advantage of conditions to build and reinforce containment lines and make progress on the ground to control those fires,” she said.

There are currently 119 wildfires burning in the forest protection area of Alberta, 15 of which are out of control, Tucker said. Since the beginning of the year, Alberta has recorded 1,033 wildfires, burning more than 600,000 hectares.

“That’s about 200 more wildfires than average,” she said. “We have burned about the same area as the five year average.”

Crews have been working to secure the north end of the fire perimeter and are cleaning up hot spots at Lake Edith and Moberly Bridge, Jasper National Park staff said in an Aug. 5 Facebook update. Hot spots along Pyramid Bench have been extinguished and the Canadian Armed Forces is patrolling the area to ensure no further fire threats emerge from these locations  which are “immediately adjacent to the community.”

Jasper National Park was established as Jasper Forest Park in 1907 and was renamed as a national park in 1930. It was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1984 and is famous for its picturesque mountain landscape and abundant wildlife.