Eight emergency services personnel from St. Albert’s fire department returned to the city on Tuesday, July 30, after five days spent fighting fires in the Jasper townsite.
The crew arrived in Jasper at 3 a.m. on July 25 to help battle a blaze that destroyed an estimated 358 of the town’s 1,113 buildings. They were assigned to help clear structural fires.
Fire services received a call from the Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA) at 8:25 on July 24. The Alberta Fire Chiefs Association also circulated an email from AEMA to all departments in the province at 10:09 p.m., at which point St. Albert was already preparing to deploy. The crew left for Jasper at 10:50 p.m.
“Any time we have a call for mutual aid from one of our regional partners, we first review our available resources and staffing,” said Everett Cooke, the city’s fire chief. “In addition to that, we also consider our local fire rating and the weather forecast for the foreseeable future.”
Because the city has two reserve fire engines as well as available off-duty staff, and because of last week’s cold, rainy forecast for the Edmonton area, St. Albert was able to provide resources to Jasper.
“Our No. 1 priority is the safety and wellbeing of our residents, so we always take St. Albert residents into account first before we deploy anywhere outside of our municipality,” Cooke said.
The crew, trained as both firefighters and paramedics, were authorized to stay in Jasper for one week, and the department was prepared to replace them with another crew for a second week if needed.
Flames from a fire burning to the south of the Jasper townsite entered the town last Wednesday. Some 25,000 residents and visitors were evacuated two days prior.
Although fires within the townsite have been extinguished, wildfires that have burned more than 36,000 hectares of Jasper continue to tear through the park.
Hot, dry and windy conditions this week have added fuel to the fires.
Officials from AEMA say it will be weeks before it is safe for residents to return.
Highway 16 through Jasper has been closed since July 22.
Jasper community "a family"
Travellers across Canada and the world feel a special connection to Jasper, but visiting isn’t quite the same as growing up there, said Reece Thomas.
Thomas moved from Jasper about 10 years ago and lives in Morinville today, but she was born and raised in Jasper, and her parents and other family members still call the town home.
“We are all family,” Thomas said. “That’s the most amazing thing that you could ever ask for in a community. They’re always helping one another, even if they are in a situation where something may be happening with them personally, they still step up to the plate, and we all help each other.”
That family connection became clearer than ever last week as Thomas and lifelong Jasper friends parsed through images of buildings destroyed by fire, rallied to help evacuated community members, and shared their grief and anxiety over the future of their home.
Growing up in Jasper, Thomas saw businesses like the town’s bowling alley and its movie theatre come and go. Other spots, like the downtown home of an elderly woman who treated Thomas like a grandchild, seem like they could never disappear. Now Thomas and others who know Jasper as home are taking stock of what’s still standing after wildfires hit at least 30 per cent of the structures in the town, and what will have to be rebuilt once residents can return.
“For me, Jasper is always a place where I love to come back,” she said. It’s where she takes her young children hiking and swimming and to visit family.
“Honestly, it's gut-wrenching,” she said. “It’s a numb feeling.”
Last week, she learned that her parents’ house survived the fire, but many of her friends’ homes were destroyed.
“I'm hoping we can come together and help each other out,” she said. “We can rebuild.”
St. Albert resident Jennifer Kendall, 53, has been travelling to Jasper multiple times a year going back to when her dad could fit her in a backpack.
It’s not just a destination for hiking, camping and admiring the mountains – it has been a gathering place for her family since before she was born.
“I’ve just got so many memories,” she said. “My heart is broken.”
Earlier this week she learned that Tekarra Lodge, a spot where she and her family liked to rent cabins, has been damaged by the fire. A notice on Tekarra Lodge’s website says that several of its cabins were destroyed along with lodge’s main building.
Kendall hopes she can pitch in with rebuilding efforts in Jasper once residents and members of the public can return.
“As soon as we can, I'll be in my Jeep, with my kayak, and I'll be out there, and [my husband] will be joining me every other week,” she said. “Just give us some direction, and we will be doing everything we can, because it’s a second home.”
Sabrina Fraser worked in Jasper for a season at Our Native Land, an Indigenous art store that has not sustained visible fire damage, according to a report available on the Municipality of Jasper’s website.
“I think every Albertan has spent some time in Jasper,” Fraser said. “Hopping into the Whistle Stop for a quick beer before venturing on to all the different stores to buy knickknacks … It's an experience that we've all had, and I'm sure everybody in Alberta is feeling that right now, the devastation.”
How to help Jasper
There are multiple ways to support Jasper and evacuated residents.
The Better Business Bureau is cautioning those who would like to donate to verify that their charity of choice is legitimate, and they recommend donating directly to well-known charities.
Below are some verified charities.
The Jasper Community Team Society’s Jasper Fire: Caring Community Fund supports community members most in need. Donations can be made at jaspercommunityteamsociety.ca.
Donations to the Canadian Wildfire Fund support Canada’s readiness to address wildfires. Donations can be made at give.redcross.ca.
Samaritan’s Purse sends staff, volunteers and equipment to help with disasters on Canadian soil. A team from Samaritan’s Purse is currently helping evacuees who fled to Kamloops. Readers can donate at samaritanspurse.ca.
