Jasper mayor stands by critical wildfire report, not concerned with relationship with province

Globe and Mail

7 days ago

The mayor of Jasper says he stands by a report commissioned by his town that criticizes Premier Danielle Smith's government response to a wildfire that destroyed a third of the Rocky Mountain community.
Smith has demanded the report, issued last week, be retracted and that the town issue an apology.
'We don't doubt the report at all,' Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland told reporters at a news conference with officials Monday.
'The report is the report. It was not intended to ascribe blame. It does not ascribe blame, and it is not a political instrument. Our regret is that it has been used as a political instrument.'
Ireland said the independent report commissioned by the town has been misrepresented and was never intended to be, in his words, a 'political document.'
The report surveyed front-line firefighters and other officials to determine ways to improve future fire responses.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith dismisses, demands apology for Jasper wildfire report
It determined the province's interference disrupted the focus of fighting the fires.
The Alberta government was not responsible to lead the incident because Jasper is located inside a national park, but the report says the province regularly asked for information and sought 'to exercise decision-making authority.'
It concludes that this jurisdictional overlap 'created political challenges that disrupted the focus of incident commanders.'
The authors do not elaborate on how severely these challenges impeded the emergency response, but Ireland said, 'There is no suggestion in that report that any disruption led to any negative consequence.'
Ireland made the comments as the town approaches the one-year anniversary of the fire this week, and he says he's not concerned the bad blood will interfere with the two sides rebuilding the community.
Smith's office said they share Jasper's concerns that the report was misrepresented and appreciates the town acknowledges it was not intended to criticize her government's contributions. Her office declined to comment on questions surrounding her call for an apology and retraction.
Ireland said he's not concerned about the town's relationship with the province, which has provided millions of dollars to help aid the town's emergency response and recovery.
The news conference marked the beginning of a solemn week in Jasper as it was a year ago that flames as high as a 30-storey building approached the small mountain town, sending a shower of embers into neighbourhoods and lighting homes on fire.
Earlier Monday, Jasper fire Chief Mathew Conte and the municipality's incident commander Christine Nadon spoke to reporters from piles of dirt where an entire neighbourhood of homes once stood. In one plot sat a small camping trailer. Several blocks away, an apartment complex that miraculously survived the fire stood alone with a small group of homes that also withstood the embers.
Combustible materials such as cedar shake roofing materials made certain homes particularly prone to fire, Conte said. Before the fire, about 220 homes had combustible roofs, he said. That number is currently down to 90.
Conte and seven other members of the local volunteer fire department lost their homes while they defended the town.
'It was pretty difficult to work the incident knowing that we've lost our stuff, but we are all professional in what we do. We persevere,' he said, adding six members of the 31-person fire service went on temporary leave after the fire for various reasons.
Parks Canada officials also provided a media tour around a patch of empty forest that had recently been logged – one of the measures Parks Canada is taking to help prevent another fire from damaging town.
Jasper is holding a number of events through the week, including an official event on Tuesday that will be attended by Eleanor Olszewski, the federal minister of emergency management. Tuesday will mark one year since 25,000 residents and visitors were evacuated out of Jasper and the national park. The fire hit the town two days later.