The Jasper fires were natural and mismanagement, not climate change
Decades of fire suppression and lack of quick action on pine beetle damage left Jasper National Park with a high fuel load. It fed a nearly unstoppable "wall of fire."
As wildfires continue to rage through Jasper National Park, the small town of Hinton, just east of Jasper, has become a hub of activity.
A mobile command center has been set up there to coordinate efforts to combat numerous fires. Meanwhile, Jasper remains closed to the public, with emergency crews working tirelessly to contain the fires that have already destroyed a third of the town.
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
The devastation has sparked a wave of criticism, with much of the blame directed at the federal government. Many argue that this disaster could have been mitigated or even prevented altogether if proper measures had been taken.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, whose ministry oversees Parks Canada, claims his people did everything possible to mitigate the damage to the historic Jasper townsite.
That assertion has done little to appease residents, who feel the government dropped the ball.
2017 pic.twitter.com/AixMEtX09f
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) July 30, 2024
For years, experts and locals alike warned these dead trees were a ticking time bomb. But the bureaucratic negligence was too much to overcome.
As early as 2017, even the mayor of Jasper sounded the alarm on the growing number of dead trees left standing in 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
GUEST: Michelle Stirling from Friends of Science discusses the Jasper fire and lessons we should have learned from previous fires.
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- By Sheila Gunn Reid
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