The Town of Jasper has released an independent review of the response to the July 2024 wildfire that decimated the town.
The "2024 Jasper Wildfire Complex Municipal After-Action Review" was released Thursday and conducted by Satya Inc. and Respond Planning & Communications Inc. The review provides 27 recommendations to strengthen emergency response within the town of Jasper.
In the executive summary of the report, it is stated that the review "is not intended to ascribe blame; rather, it identifies gaps, overlaps, and opportunities for improvement to ultimately support increased community resilience, bolster the capacity and capabilities of the groups involved in the incident, and bring light to issues that may warrant additional exploration in future emergency planning efforts."
According to the town, the review wasn't intended to "evaluate the independent response efforts of Parks Canada or the Province of Alberta, except where their actions intersected with the Unified Command structure operating within the Municipality鈥檚 jurisdiction."
鈥淩esponding to an incident of this scale requires not only coordination but trust between agencies, partners, and communities,鈥� said Christine Nadon, Director of Protective and Legislative Services for the Town of Jasper.
鈥淭his review reinforces the strength of those relationships and gives us a clear path forward to continue improving our collective readiness.鈥�
The report states that the wildfire was the most devastating fire Jasper National Park has faced in a century. It destroyed 32 per cent of structures within the municipality, as well as over 800 housing units. It also disrupted the lives of thousands of residents and tourists.
According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, the wildfire is the second costliest fire event in Canadian history, with insured damage now estimated to be $1.23 billion.
The review outlines how difficult it was to respond to such a unique wildfire.
"One of the most significant challenges in managing the wildfire was the unpredictability of its behaviour," the review reads.
"Initial fire spread models and forecasts predicted that the wildfire would reach the townsite by Friday, July 26, potentially with some rainfall, both allowing for critical mitigation and preparedness measures to be implemented over several days.
"However, rapidly changing conditions, including significant overnight fire growth, strong winds on July 22 and 23, and convective fire growth on July 24, accelerated the fire鈥檚 progression significantly. As a result, the wildfire reached the outskirts of Jasper 46 hours after igniting on Wednesday, July 24, catching responders in a race against time to implement emergency measures.
"This rapid escalation underscored the limitations of fire modelling in extreme conditions and highlighted the need for adaptive response strategies in an increasingly volatile wildfire environment."
The review, in one of its 27 recommendations, while specifically indicating it was not intended to assign blame, describes the relationship between the provincial government and the federal government's response to the wildfire as a challenge.
"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," part of the report reads.
"While Alberta Wildfire actively supported firefighting operations and participated in the IMT, 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 reentry."
Premier Danielle Smith issued a statement in response to the review, claiming that it overlooks "substantial, coordinated efforts" by the provincial government to help during the wildfire.
"Alberta鈥檚 swift deployment of crews, emergency funding and operational support played a critical role in protecting lives and infrastructure, and these contributions are either minimized or ignored entirely," Smith said in a statement, adding that the report fails to address Parks Canada's poor forest management practices.
鈥淚mportantly, this wildfire began within Jasper National Park, a federally managed area under the jurisdiction of Parks Canada. As such, the initial response and fire management fell solely under federal control. Alberta provided support promptly when called upon, operating within the constraints of that jurisdictional reality. Alberta Wildfire had no part in the management of the wildfire until after the fire breached the town. Previous to that, Alberta Wildfire was providing personnel and equipment as requested."
In a press release from the Town of Jasper accompanying the report, CAO Bill Given was complimentary of those organizations and individuals who helped shape the response to the wildfire. He also said the review is critical to understanding how to better shape wildfire response in the future.
鈥淐ommunities like Fort McMurray, Slave Lake, High River, and many others have all shared valuable insights through their own after-action reviews, and those lessons helped shape our approach in Jasper,鈥� Given said.
"By sharing our experiences now, we hope to contribute to the growing body of knowledge that supports better planning, stronger partnerships, and more resilient communities across Alberta. I am incredibly proud of 鈥� and deeply grateful to 鈥� everyone who responded in our community鈥檚 time of need. Their commitment, resilience, and teamwork made all the difference during one of the most challenging times Jasper has ever faced.鈥�
The full report can be read .
