Jasper, reshaped a year ago by fire, is preparing for the future

A year after having lost a third of its territory because of a gigantic forest fire, Jasper is redoubling with efforts to prevent new disasters. Between regulations, architectural innovations and actions in the field, the Municipality Albertaine traces the way for resilience in the face of the climate that changes.

The 2024 fire acted as an electroshoc.

Jasper’s firefighters, Matthew Conte, underlines that the Intelli-Feu program (FireSmart)active since the 2000s, has been redesigned and muscular. From now on, prevention is based on targeted actions: cleansing of land, elimination of fuels around houses and adoption of safer building materials.

“Before the fire, 220 houses still had combustible roofs. There are only 96 left today, ”explains Mr. Conte.

In partnership with Parks Canada, the municipality now imposes flame retardant materials for new constructions: roofs, coverings, windows, and firewall must comply with strict standards.

A prevention captain was created to support this turn. This person coordinates home assessments and oversees the new residential nozzle program, subsidized by the municipality.

But Jasper’s Emergency Services Director Christine Nadon is clear: the only awareness is no longer enough.

It will take binding municipal regulations, with warnings, fines to make things happen.

It also campaigns for a revision of the National Building Code, so that all new homes are built with fire -resistant materials: “We can no longer afford houses in cedar or vinyl shingles. Today there are materials such as fibrociment, much safer. »»

But this turn has a cost. To make it viable, financial assistance programs are requested.

Two decades of risk reduction, intensified

DAVE ARGUMENT, head of the management of fire in Parcs Canada, recalls that the prevention work is old, more than 20 years of effort, in particular with the creation of buffer zones in strategic sectors such as Pyramid terraces.

Recent operations made it possible to treat 115 hectares. Selective cuts promote more fire -resistant species (tremors, Douglas) and aim to limit the spread of top lights, transformed into more controllable surface lights.

“These areas facilitate firefighters and reduce the intensity of the fire in the event of a new fire. They also protect against the rains of embers, ”he explains.

This work, although expensive, $ 15,000/hectare, is considered essential. The more natural -directed burning remains excluded near the city for security reasons.

Despite the efforts, the magnitude of the 2024 fire highlighted the persistent vulnerability of the municipality. Christine Nadon, who was commander of the incident, said him without detour: “No quantity of resources could have stopped this fire. Winds, drought, speed … It was a conflagration. »»

The rains of embers, pushed by strong winds, lit lights for miles, especially in the Cabin Creek West district.

If you are FireSmartand your neighbor is not, your house is always at risk.

Matthew Conte finds that several properties were badly prepared: cedar roofs, flammable bushes, wooden terraces.

Acceleration, adaptation, coordination

As for Parks Canada, the fire only strengthened the need to speed up prevention work. “We will continue to connect the blocks already treated, to expand the buffer zones. We must strengthen global resilience, because fires like this will be our new normality, ”says Dave Argument.

He recognizes that Jasper’s experience resonates far beyond the Rockies. It embodies the challenges of communities in the face of a drier, more unstable climate, where community preparation, architectural choices and management of the territory become vital survival tools.

“There is no miracle solution, but an approach in layers, prevention, adaptation, collaboration can make the difference,” concludes Mr. Argument.