Region Archives: Canada West

While Ottawa fixates on climate change rhetoric, their neglect of forest fire prevention has left Alberta’s landscapes vulnerable to devastation. Last week, a shining beacon of the beauty of our province was partially destroyed as a wildfire burned through the picturesque town of Jasper. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims. …But many people’s livelihoods have been wiped out. The question is how did this happen, and what could have been done to prevent it? Smokey Bear’s famous saying was: “Only you can prevent forest fires.” And, in this case, proactive measures certainly could have made a difference. Unfortunately, the entire federal government seems to have forgotten Smokey’s key point. Fire prevention on national park land is federal jurisdiction. …Ottawa needs to stay in its lane and focus on its own jurisdiction, and they need to stop blaming climate change for their own ineptitude.

The Category 1 (campfires) open burning prohibition will be rescinded in the Prince George and Northwest Fire Centres as of noon on Aug. 1. According to the BC Wildfire Service, fire danger is constantly being measured and campfire prohibitions may return in either region if conditions change. The current prohibition for any Category 2 and Category 3 open fires remains in effect. Although fire danger ratings have dropped due to recent rainfall and cooler temperatures, the BC Wildfire Service is reminding the public to still exercise caution.

JASPER – Parks Canada wants everyone to know that despite the wildfire scorching Jasper National Park, Bear 222 is OK. …The bear, fitted with a radio tracking collar, has been followed since the blaze began last week. …Despite the loss of about a third of the Jasper townsite, including homes and buildings, as well as the sorrow over the destruction of a beloved piece of Canadian landscape, experts say animals know how to protect themselves in a wildfire. “Fire is a natural process and we expect animals to find new places to live,” said James McCormick, Jasper’s human-wildlife coexistence specialist. Mark Boyce, a wildlife biologist at the University of Alberta, said Jasper’s animals know what to do when their home is on fire. “Most of the critters get out of the way,” he said. “The number of animals (killed) is usually pretty small. In general, it’s not a major source of mortality.”

Avatar Grove and recreational site was temporarily closed by Recreation Sites and Trails BC (RSTBC) in 2022, and trail maintenance has been disallowed since 2018 because the RSTBC had determined that safety and sustainability concerns must be addressed before reopening public access. In 2020, the RSTBC commissioned a Sustainable Forest Management Plan and Trail Redesign Plan to identify issues, provide solutions, and address safety and sustainability concerns. “Although I have never seen the Sustainable Forest Management Plan, I have heard it noted concerns about impacts from the high volume of recreational users and the need for a more robust trail system at Avatar,” Dan Quigley, a long-time resident of a summer property in Port Renfrew stated in a recent letter to various entities at RSTBC, Juan de Fuca Electoral Area director Al Wickheim, Langford-Juan de Fuca MLA Ravi Parmar, and BC Premier David Eby.

Did the Federal Government and local authorities in Jasper fail to apply established forest management techniques diligently in the past to keep the town’s inhabitants and their property safe? Past pronouncements from Government officials seem complacent… But they shouldn’t be. In 2017 and 2018, I expressed concerns on this topic in two letters to local papers. …in 2017 I attended a mountain pine beetle seminar in Jasper and … was stunned that nobody attended who had anything to do with Jasper National Park. …In 2018, I was told that control work at Jasper was limited due to sensitive soils… It seemed incredible that the administration the possibility of damaged soils higher than the town’s safety. …Now they’re blaming the fire on climate change. But as Jamie Sarkonak recently wrote in the National Post, it’s bad management forest management that’s behind it. And yes, some of us did try to raise the alarm years ago.

Jasper, Alberta is the latest community to experience catastrophic wildfire. …Climate change is not going to go away.  Wildfires will only increase in quantity and severity in the future.  It is folly for governments to continue to manage forests as they have over the last century.  That management has contributed to catastrophic fire becoming normal. …B.C.’s Forest Practices Board recommends “landscape forest management,” to provide protection against aggressive wildfire.  Tools available include prescribed burns, removal or chipping of dead wood, thinning of forests and restoration of heterogeneous landscapes and varied tree species. As climate change ramps up, Alberta and B.C. are particularly vulnerable to wildfire, but the other  provinces and territories are at risk as well.  The recent Jasper fire will not be the last catastrophic wildfire in Alberta or B.C.  Rather, without extensive reform, Jasper is the first of many catastrophic wildfires that will befall Canada’s west in 2024 and beyond. 

When Ken Hodges heard about the devastating wildfire that took out part of the historic mountain town of Jasper this week, he said he was “frustrated.” “All I could say is that we tried to warn them that it was coming. We told them constantly. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.” The retired forester, along with his colleague Emile Begin, spent years repeatedly warning the parks service, the federal and provincial government, city council, and residents, that mis-management of the forests around Jasper had created a tinderbox that would inevitably spark a massive wildfire. “I just feel so badly for the people who have lost their homes and their businesses. Could it have been prevented? I don’t know. If they had done everything they could have? Maybe. Something was going to happen over time, so it’s so frustrating and devastating.” 

OTTAWA — Jasper’s mayor said Monday he rejects any suggestion that Parks Canada failed in its management of Jasper National Park against the risk of wildfire, saying their efforts resulted in 70 per cent of the town remaining intact. Richard Ireland—whose own home was burned— said he’s heard criticism against the federal department. …“For anyone who might see this as a failure, I reject that premise. This is a success.” He said people are asking why more of the forest was not cleared, particularly of pine-beetle dead trees. While officials say they played a factor, Ireland said it is simply not feasible to have cleared the area. “We’re talking about a stretch of land, a valley that’s kilometres wide and 30 kilometres long,” said Ireland. …Over the past decade, he says Parks Canada has lit 15 prescribed burns in Jasper burning “thousands of hectares” in the park alone. No injuries or fatalities were reported from the blaze. 

This months headlines include:

• The season of wildfires is here
• Wildfire Resources:
  • New BC Wildfire Service Best Management Practices for fuel treatments
  • Fire Weather
  • Smoke Forecast Map
  • The Wildfire Reduction Equipment Support Trust
  • Wildfire Risk Reduction on Community Forests
• 2024 BCCFA Conference Reporting and Feedback
• Silviculture Innovation Program: Innovative Silviculture Survey

Parks Canada rejected criticism that it left the town of Jasper vulnerable to wildfires by not removing more mountain pine beetle killed trees. Nearly a third of Jasper’s structures were destroyed by wildfire last week. …all fires in the town are now extinguished, but blazes continue to burn throughout Jasper National Park and there is no timeline for when residents can return home. …the park has been ravaged by mountain pine beetle… Some forestry experts have criticized Parks Canada for being too focused on preserving natural forest ecosystems and not doing more to remove beetle-affected trees around Jasper. Head of the agency Ron Hallman said pine beetle was a factor in the wildfire, but Parks Canada had done everything it reasonably could to reduce the risk over many decades. …Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland said … the reason 70% of structures had not burned was because of steps taken by Parks Canada to protect the community.

JASPER, ALTA. — Parks Canada officials and politicians angrily denied Monday that forest management policies in Jasper National Park contributed to a catastrophic wildfire that damaged one-third of the townsite. Ron Hallman, CEO of the federal agency, said it was “ridiculous” to assert his organization puts a higher value on nature than people. “That is offensive, frankly,” he said. “There is nothing that is more important to Parks Canada than the safety of our employees, our guests and the people that we work with.” …Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland called the response to the Jasper wildfire a success. He said the town and Parks Canada were aware of the risk and took steps to prepare the town against them, such as becoming one of Canada’s first FireSmart communities. …Steve Carr, executive director with the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, said exercises were done six weeks ago in anticipation of such an event.

Additional coverage in the Edmonton Journal by David Staples: What did we expect to happen with the dangerous, dry and dying Jasper forest?

Gary Mar

Since the horrific fire swept through Jasper National Park last week, I’ve been reflecting on my time in government. …this terrible fire caused me to think about whether governments did enough to avoid this outcome. I also think about lessons that all governments should take about public policy, effective leadership and the role of science when there is controversy. In 1999, I was environment minister in Alberta. …After devastating forests in B.C. the mountain pine beetle migrated with prevailing winds into Alberta, including Jasper National Park. …Unfortunately, the right thing to do appeared to many people to be overly drastic. …scientists were advising to remove huge swaths of forest through logging and prescribed fires. …This is a case study that reveals that good public policy is not always popular and what is popular is not always good public policy. …We need to listen to the science and act with long-term intentions. [Access to the full story requires a Globe and Mail subscription]

A plan to log part of a community watershed in the Slocan Valley despite a study pointing to low water flows has the users on that system in protest. The Dumont Creek Water Users Group began a petition and obtained 35 names of residents opposed to a proposal by Slocan Integral Forestry Cooperative (SIFCO) to log part of 598-hectare Winlaw Woodlot 1832. …spokesperson John Wittmayer said 300 of those hectares are where the headwaters of the Dumont Creek Watershed are located. SIFCO hired a consultant to supply a prescription to the Selkirk Natural Resource District — part of the Ministry of Forests — to commercially log and build haul roads through the most sensitive parts of the Dumont Creek watershed. The consultant is not a Professional Registered Forester, yet he’s been conducting himself as if he were, Wittmayer contended …the consultant has been supplying cutting and road building proposals to the Ministry of Forests, he added.

LAC LA BICHE – The Fire Smart program has been very successful in mitigating wildfire risks in the Lac La Biche area, says John Kokotilo, the regional fire chief for Lac La Biche County.  The program is administered in Alberta municipalities and nationwide to teach homeowners how to protect their properties from the risk of wildfire, Lac La Biche County Fire Services conducts free home assessments and free wood chipping services for residents as part of the program.  Kokotilo says many folks have signed up, and interest in the program is growing. “So far this year we have 150 assessments and 35 wood chipping appointments, and we are still getting requests, it’s ongoing,” he told Lakeland This Week on July 22 as the wildfire hazard across the region was listed as Extreme. 

The shocking footage of the Jasper town site… struck a deep chord with me. Like many others, I have cherished childhood memories of the park. …Just as fires rage across much of western Canada, so too do political debates about the causes of the fires. Is it climate change? Is it the mountain pine beetle epidemic? Is it a lack of prescribed burns and a banning of Indigenous burning practices? Is it bureaucratic and government inaction? …When tragedy strikes, everyone wants to point fingers and come up with a clear answer. We all want certainty in an uncertain world. And yet, the causes of wildfires are complex and there’s no single answer as to why so many of our communities are threatened by wildfires in this moment.

Those more inclined to opine on the Jasper fire include:

• WJ Burn in the Edmonton Journal: ‘Green’ forest policy turned Jasper into a tinderbox
• Ed Struzik in the The Tyee: Jasper Is another grim warning of Canada’s wildfire failures
• Ryan Tumilty in the National Post: How much did beetle-killed trees feed the runaway wildfire?
• Byron Hackett in the Red Deer Advocate: We need context without piling all the blame on ant one party
• Lorne Gunter in the Toronto Sun: Parks Canada insists dead forests be allowed to regenerate naturally
• David Climenhaga in AlbertaPolitics.ca: Yes, Alberta, it’s time we had a grown-up talk about wildfires
• Marc Fawcett-Atkinson in the National Observer: The blaze fueled a wide disinformation firestorm
• Corey Morgan in The Epoch Times: We need proper forest management now or wildfires will get worse
• Don Braid in the Calgary Herald: Bad management has turned forests into firebombs. Bring back the Indigenous ways

An invasive beetle species — infamous for decimating ash tree populations in North America — is making its way west across Canada, and Calgary is bracing for its potential arrival. The emerald ash borer was first detected in Canada in 2002, in Ontario. Despite efforts to contained it, the beetle eventually spread to Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and, most recently, British Columbia. Now, the City of Calgary predicts the species could arrive this year. With more than 70,000 ash trees on public land and many more on private property, the city says the insect poses a severe threat to Calgary’s urban canopy. …Entomologists and municipalities that have spent millions of dollars trying to fight the spread of the emerald ash borer say monitoring is important but the public could play a crucial role in keeping Calgary’s tree canopy safe. The emerald ash borer has killed millions of trees in Canada.

Banff is losing the race to prevent the type of disastrous wildfire that torched the town of Jasper, says a former Parks Canada environmental scientist. The failure over decades to properly manage forests to protect the town of Banff doesn’t bode well for the survival of the busy mountain mecca, said Dr. Cliff White, who retired as environmental science manager for Banff National Park in 2009. “It’s just so primed to burn, you can’t stop it — I don’t think Banff has time . . . Banff and Canmore are equally vulnerable and it’s a matter that we really need to get our heads around,” said White, now an environmental consultant with various projects in Canada’s oldest national park. “It’s going to take 20 to 30 years (to do proper mitigation), and Mother Nature’s going to beat Banff before that.” He made those comments less than a day after a wildfire howled into the town of Jasper.

VANCOUVER ISLAND — With the dry season in full swing, and the threat of wildfires ever present, Lake Cowichan’s mayor is pleased the town’s application for a $400,000 FireSmart grant from the Union of B.C. Municipalities has been successful. Tim McGonigle said Lake Cowichan is closely surrounded by forests so the town initiated a FireSmart program a few years ago. He said the $400,000 in funding for the town’s Community Resiliency Project – Phase 1 from the UBCM’s 2024 FireSmart Community Funding program will be used, in part, to hire a person to oversee Lake Cowichan’s ongoing FireSmart program on a two-year contract. …McGonigle said the town has been undertaking remediation projects in its neighbourhoods for several years, largely funded through grants from the UBCM’s FireSmart program, and the plan is to expand the town’s program with the latest grant.

Don’t blame the federal government for coming too slowly to Alberta’s aid in fighting the monster fire that has destroyed a significant portion of the Jasper townsite. The problem is the reverse: Blame the feds for being to slow to ask Alberta to become part of its integrated firefighting efforts inside Jasper National Park, where Parks Canada is in charge. Parks Canada lacks the technology and experience to fight a fire a night, meaning as two wildfires approached the resort town, efforts to control or at least divert them ceased in the dark. But Alberta has night-fighting capability. Alberta also has the equipment and expertise to throw up giant walls of water in front of giant walls of flame. Parks Canada doesn’t, and didn’t ask for Alberta’s help. Mostly, though, it’s fair to blame Parks Canada for ignoring years of warnings. 

In this newsletter:

• Safety tip from the BC Forest Safety Council.
• FESBC announces its new Executive Director, Jason Fisher.
• City of Kimberley has made progress to mitigate wildfire risk.
• Meet our newest team member, Operations Manager, Tyler Field.
• Meet our Faces of Forestry featured person, Ben Klassen.

Chase’s Keegan Ashley will be living the dream this summer as one of five students to win a 2024 Green Dream Internship in forestry from the Forest Products Association of Canada. The program highlights the perspectives and experiences of students working in the forest sector for six weeks. Winners also receive a $1,000 scholarship for further education. Ashley, who is with the Interfor Adams Lake Division, will use social media to share his insights and create content that provides a unique look at his summer experiences. …”Keegan’s passion for the forest industry is rooted in his family history, which spans more than 100 years in the sector,” the company said on Instagram. “He plans to pursue a career in either manufacturing or the woodlands sector. Through the Green Dream Internship, Keegan hopes to share his journey and promote the opportunities the industry holds for young workers and students like himself.”