Alberta Premier Danielle Smith tours Jasper on Friday, July 26, 2024. Smith on Friday defended the province’s wildfire response after a report found that the government impeded the work of crews.Amber Bracken/Reuters
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is dismissing a report into last year’s wildfires around Jasper National Park after surveyed firefighters said the work of crews was impeded by the provincial government.
In a statement Friday, Ms. Smith played down findings from the report, which was commissioned by the municipality of Jasper, and examined perspectives from firefighters and other people involved in the effort against the wind-whipped conflagrations that devastated at least one-third of the buildings in the town.
“It is disheartening to see a report and the media response to that report that so clearly overlooks the substantial, coordinated efforts undertaken by the Alberta government during the Jasper wildfire,” the Premier wrote, responding to the report issued Thursday.
Alberta government complicated Jasper fire response, report says
She defended Alberta’s deployment of crews, emergency funding and operational support, stating those contributions were “either minimized or ignored entirely” by the findings.
Pointing out that the wildfire started within an area that is managed by the federal government, Ms. Smith said the initial response and management was solely under the jurisdiction of Parks Canada. “Alberta provided support promptly when called upon, operating within the constraints of that jurisdictional reality,” she said.
“AB Wildfire had no part in the management of the wildfire until after the fire breeched the town. Previous to that, AB Wildfire was providing personnel and equipment as requested.”
Next week, Jasper will mark one year since the wildfires destroyed the homes of roughly 2,000 residents and forced around 25,000 people out of the area for weeks after July 22, 2024. Morgan Kitchen, a 24-year-old firefighter, was the only fatality. He was killed after a falling tree struck him while he battled the fire.
Smith says the initial wildfire response and management was solely under the jurisdiction of Parks Canada, and that Alberta’s contributions were “either minimized or ignored entirely” by the report’s findings.AMBER BRACKEN/The Canadian Press
According to the report, town officials from Jasper and Parks Canada had an integrated command structure, but their response to the fire became challenging when the Alberta government got involved.
”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,” noted the report, which was not intended to assign blame.
“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.”
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Ms. Smith contended that Thursday’s report and its coverage in the media “not only appears politically motivated, it is also misguided.” She said it fails to acknowledge the work of provincial emergency personnel and leadership.
“Notably, local officials raised no concerns when provincial wildfire firefighting teams arrived rapidly with personnel and equipment, nor when Alberta stepped up to fill gaps in funding, logistics and accommodations,” she said. “These facts deserve recognition.”
The Premier said the report also does not address what she described as the “broader and ongoing issue of forest management practices within national parks,” which she stated is exclusively Ottawa’s responsibility.
Ms. Smith has previously faulted the federal government for the wildfires in Jasper. Earlier this year, her government accused both Ottawa and local town officials of stalling progress toward housing for displaced residents in the area.
“We hope all jurisdictions take a closer look at their own deficiencies rather than blame others,” she said Friday.
With a report from The Canadian Press