Parliamentary Committee Notes: Jasper, Alberta Wildfire

Issue

Numerous fire starts in July were impacting Jasper National Park, threatening the Town of Jasper. By Monday, July 22, 2024, 25,000 people were ordered to evacuate the area. As the situation progressed beyond the capabilities of the local and provincial government, Alberta submitted Requests for Assistance. The federal government provided resources from the Canadian Armed Forces, evacuation support, and emergency wildfire resources to the province immediately. Over the next 50 days the federal government would respond to three RFAs, along with an extension. In addition to the RFAs, the federal government provided additional supports to Alberta, as did the Humanitarian Workforce and other NGOs.

Event Timeline

• 22 Jul: Numerous fire starts in the park are identified as being potentially threatening to the community.
• 23-24 Jul: More than 25,000 people evacuated safely from Jasper National Park and town of Jasper after the situation rapidly deteriorated.
• 23 Jul: Parks Canada mobilized an Incident Management Team and additional firefighting resources and aircraft. Parks Canada and Alberta Wildfire are partners in wildfire response and Alberta Wildfire was supporting Jasper National Park. Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA) arrived in Jasper.
• 23 Jul: HWF/NGO supports arrive in staging areas in Edmonton to assist with evacuee accommodations and meals.
• 24 Jul: The Government of Canada received a request for federal assistance from the Province of Alberta in response to the out of control fires. It was approved within hours.
• 24 Jul: Specialists from municipal fire departments, wildland firefighters, incident management personnel, fire behaviour analysts, structural protection specialists, geographic information system specialists and other support personnel arrive. Firefighting efforts supported by aircraft including nine helicopters, heavy equipment and fire engines and structural protection units. Approx. 260 personnel on this fire as of 24 Jul.
• 25 Jul: Parks Canada and the Municipality of Jasper assume a Unified Command and continued to manage this crisis from the Town of Hinton. Calgary HUSAR team, CAN-TF 2, later joined command in assisting the Municipality of Jasper and Parks Canada to coordinate the response to the wildfire.
• 26-28 Jul: Priority was to control hot spots in the outskirts of Jasper and in the trees directly surrounding the town of Jasper and to conduct damage assessments.
• 15 Aug: The northwest fire perimeter is 100% contained or controlled.
• 16 Aug: Re-entry supports begin for residents and business operators.
• 17 Aug: The fire is classified as being held and the Evacuation Alert is lifted from the townsite.

RFA timelines

• Between July 24 and September 12 the federal government responded to three requests for federal assistance (RFAs) from Alberta. The RFA received on July 24, in the wake of the Jasper fire, was approved within hours.
• Throughout the entire response, the government operations centre and implicated federal departments, held daily situational briefings with the province of Alberta.

These requests included

• Wildland firefighting resources, including aerial infrared scanning and wildfire status monitoring;
• Pre-positioning of strategic airlift resources for the evacuation of isolated communities;
• Air support to move wildfire crews and equipment
• Logistics support; and
• Humanitarian and logistics support from NGO's for immediate needs, post-wildfire mitigation, site surveys, damage assessments and property examinations.

Additional Federal Supports included

• CIFFC collaboration to provide further wildland firefighting resources;
• Public Services and Procurement Canada assistance to Alberta for the procurement of commercial options to assist in the overall response, including the provision of wildfire mitigation resources and logistical support;
• Air assets and IMT and logistical specialists were made available from additional departments;
• Various departments were prepared to assist with aerial infrared scanning and the collection of wildfire status information; and
• Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) provided support impacted Albertans with enhanced Service Canada hours for services.

CAF (via RFA)

• On Jul 26, the CAF 3 Div reconnaissance team arrived at the staging area in Edmonton with CC-130 Hercules, four Griffon helicopters and 113 personnel trained in Type 3 firefighting.

Parks Canada

• Over the duration of the event Parks had deployed several crews including type 2 and 3 firefighters (FF), Incident management teams (IMT), and other specialists.

Additional Humanitarian Workforce / NGO Support / HUSAR

• Team Rubicon provided post-wildfire mitigation, site survey, damage assessment, property examinations and debris removal, and sifting operations under the Public Safety Canada Humanitarian Workforce Program;
• The Canadian Red Cross provided financial assistance to impacted residents/households, aided in the redistribution of funding to support NGO's response and recovery, aided in the delivery of emergency social services and the delivery of psychosocial support;
• The Salvation Army provided food and hydration to wildfire relief and recovery efforts in Jasper, Alberta. They also assisted the Canadian Red Cross and other NGOs with Humanitarian Service Centre feeding;
• The federal government and the government of Alberta established a funds-matching initiative to match individual and corporate donations under the Canadian Red Cross (CRC) 2024 Alberta Wildfires Appeal. Eligible projects under the program include:
  • the provision of financial assistance to impacted residents/households;
  • the redistribution of funding to support NGOs response and recovery; the delivery of emergency social services; and
  • the delivery of psychosocial support.
• As September 23, 2024, Canadians have donated over $10 million to the CRC's response.
• On 22 Jul: SJA deployed 6 personnel to AB to provide meals and support evacuees. Approximately 500 people were provided meals from SJA.
• 23 Jul – 30 Jul: CRC managed financial assistance for every nation member evacuated.
• 23 Jul – 24 Aug: CRC provided support alongside Edmonton's Reception Centre for accommodations and food to evacuees.
• 15 Aug – early Sep: Team Rubicon begun work in Jasper completing intake surveys and site surveys for sifting operations.
• HUSAR support
  • 24 Jul – 31 Jul, 21 Members, Town of Jasper IMT Support.
  • 30 Jul – 07 Aug, 10 Members, Town of Jasper IMT Support.
  • 04 Aug – 14 Aug, 4 Members, Parks Canada IMT Support.

RFA Timelines

• 24 Jul to 08 Aug 2024 – CAF supports
• 22 Aug to 15 Aug 2024 – CAF and Team Rubicon supports.
• CAF support ended 15 Aug
• 22 Aug to 05 Sep 2024 – Team Rubicon HWF
• HWF supports were extended to 12 Sep 2024

Date modified:

2025-01-23