“Removing dead trees, thinning, doing landscaping, replacing conifers with deciduous trees to try and minimize the impact of a potential forest fire on a town like Jasper, the fact all of these things were done has helped to save large parts of the town,” said Environment Minister Guilbeault.
.@S_Guilbeault calls @ParksCanada "one of the best prepared" in the nation but won't disclose how many thousands of hectares of dead pine it left standing before wildfire burned Jasper. https://t.co/1Z2cC6D93m #cdnpoli @environmentca pic.twitter.com/fkin0DzxuS
— Blacklock's Reporter (@mindingottawa) August 2, 2024
According to Blacklock's Reporter, Guilbeault's office confirmed 500 hectares of dead trees were cleared to reduce fuel loads in the forest of Jasper, but no details were offered about how many trees remain to be cleared.
Guilbeault says "years of forest management" paid off in Jasper.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) July 29, 2024
30% of the town burned.
His own ministry's 2022 Jasper Park Mgmt Plan says not enough was done to clear pine beetle fuel load out of the park. Feds were warned in 2017 about potential for a catastrophe… pic.twitter.com/j7IrALmW5d
30% of the historic Jasper townsite — 358 structures — was lost on July 24 and 25 after an out-of-control wildfire described as a "wall of fire" swept into the Alberta National Park under federal jurisdiction.
'It was a matter of time': Jasper-area locals react to federal mismanagement of wildfire
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) August 1, 2024
A devastating wildfire swept through Jasper National Park and into the historic Jasper townsite July 24, claiming 30% of the town's structures.
Although Minister of Environment and Climate… pic.twitter.com/s0pkDdLfKb
Parks Canada officials told the House of Commons Environment Committee that the vast swaths of trees killed by a mountain pine beetle posed a risk to the park.
Parks Canada officials noted the danger of dead trees in Jasper to cause devastating wildfires.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) August 2, 2024
In Feb 2020. https://t.co/7f7nX9ad1m pic.twitter.com/R8q0afxTgY
"Obviously one of the big concerns is the dead trees,” said Parks Canada VP Darlene Upton.
