A report into a wildfire that devastated Jasper last summer says crews did their best but efforts were slowed by the Alberta government. The report was authorized by the town and surveyed participants and firefighters who battled the fire that destroyed a third of buildings in the community located in Jasper National Park.
The point of the report says it wasn’t meant to assign blame, it states that town and Parks Canada officials trained together and had an integrated command structure, but things became difficult to navigate when the province got involved.
It says the Alberta government, while not technically responsible to lead the crisis, made things more complicated with regular requests for information and by seeking to exercise decision-making authority.
The report says the interference slowed the focus of incident commanders and forced them to manage inquiries and issues instead of fighting the fire and leading the re-entry of residents.
“The response to the Jasper Wildfire Complex demonstrated the effectiveness of the strong Unified Command established by the Municipality of Jasper and Parks Canada,” said the report.
“Provincial involvement added complexity to the response as the Province of Alberta, though not jurisdictionally responsible to lead the incident, regularly requested information and sought to exercise decision-making authority,” stated the report.
“While Alberta Wildfire actively supported firefighting operations and participated in the (incident management team), jurisdictional overlap with the province created political challenges that disrupted the focus of incident commanders, leading to time spent managing inquiries and issues instead of directing the wildfire response and re-entry.”
Premier Danielle Smith, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis, Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen, and Minister of Assisted Living and Social Services Jason Nixon, issued the following statement in response to the report on the 2024 Jasper wildfire.
“Importantly, this wildfire began within Jasper National Park, a federally managed area under the jurisdiction of Parks Canada. As such, the initial response and fire management fell solely under federal control. Alberta provided support promptly when called upon, operating within the constraints of that jurisdictional reality. Alberta Wildfire had no part in the management of the wildfire until after the fire breeched the town. Previous to that, Alberta Wildfire was providing personnel and equipment as requested.”
The statement goes on to say, “The Emergency Management Cabinet Committee demonstrated strong leadership throughout the crisis, meeting daily to ensure Alberta’s emergency response mechanisms were fully engaged, and approving $181 million in disaster financial assistance along with property tax relief.”
The fire entered the town last July 24, with 25,000 residents and visitors forced out days earlier. Residents were out for three weeks.
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