Jasper Is Another Grim Warning of Canada’s Wildfire Failures
Lack of preparedness, research and a national plan means increasing destruction
In what is becoming an unfortunately common occurrence, the town of Jasper, Alberta, has been ravaged by a wildfire of unprecedented scale. Crews report witnessing “300- to 400-foot flames,” while up to 50 per cent of Jasper’s buildings may be damaged. Luckily, there have been no reported fatalities so far.
If a fire can burn the town of Jasper in a national park that has the resources to deal with fire, what does the future hold for hundreds of small boreal forest towns across the country that do not have the means, know-how or resolve to accept that fire will come someday?
Jasper is the latest in a growing number of communities affected by wildfires. Twenty thousand people living in Yellowknife were evacuated from their homes for more than three weeks in 2023. The B.C. town of Lytton is still rebuilding after it burned in 2021.
