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Seems bad. Looks like the church on Geikei street went up.
2024 Wildfire Season
- Thread starter Cloud Cover
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daftandbarmy
Army.ca Dinosaur
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I love the tight, comfy design, charm and feel of Jasper. Despite that, how can the province be blamed for so much of this? As I mentioned above, when North America's best trained, highest budgeted FD (LA county) says they can't stop urban wildfires, and the millions spent on "forrest management " is a wasted effort. How rational is it to blame the province for this? I am impressed with the efforts to slow the fire in this weather, and the communication to keep people safe throughout this fire. Tourists are often forgotten in the pre-planning and during these types of natural hazards.
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Especially since Parks Canada is the primary agency responsible for both fuel mitigation and firefighting in Jasper National Park- not the Alberta Government.
I like Jasper, too. I much prefer it to Banff. Sadly, it may be years before a visit is possible again…
QV
Army.ca Veteran
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More emphasis on maintaining large fire breaks? Deadfall harvesting program? The last time I was in Jasper much of the surrounding mountainsides were devastated by pine beetles leaving huge swaths of dry dead timber just waiting to light up.
daftandbarmy
Army.ca Dinosaur
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PrairieFella
Sr. Member
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Better yet, cancel the rebate program entirely and actually use what they have on green infrastructure and tech, R&D and climate mitigation programs. It's so fucking stupid that they take the money and redistribute it. That carbon tax could have electrified Alberta and Sask by now or funded several fission plants or built nice transit infrastructure in every Canadian major city or built seawalls or funded fusion research or hardened electrical grids or or or. It should actually be having tangible effects on GHG emissions, not performative, do-nothing income redistributions.
foresterab
Full Member
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Yes Jasper logged some small areas...mostly to the north and west of town. It was patch cuts but they did a really good job at removing the post logging slash as well. But it was only a small area.Luckily they've been doing more forest management to mitigate fires in the Parks, but who knows if it will be enough....
Logging in Canada’s Most Famous National Park to Save It From Wildfires
Still reeling from its worst wildfire season on record last year, Canada is now confronting the quick start of a new one. So-called zombie fires, which smoldered under snow-covered ground during the winter, have sprung to life and forced thousands to flee from affected cities and towns in Western Canada.
Coming out of Canada’s warmest winter in history, communities near forests are bracing for another tough wildfire season, and for a future increasingly prone to wildfires as a result of climate change.
Long-planned measures meant to protect against wildfires — like the fire guard in Alberta’s Banff park and other projects in the town of Banff — have taken on a greater sense of urgency.
Last year, a dozen fires were ignited, mostly from lightning, in Banff and two adjoining national parks, including three near the new fire guard. They were quickly extinguished.
But across Alberta, the impact of last year’s record wildfire season was “massive,’’ said Katherine Severson, director of emergency services in the town of Banff.
The increased number of fires in sparsely populated areas of Canada has affected not only nearby communities, but also distant ones, with the intense smoke they have generated floating into southern Canada and into the United States.
Logging in Canada’s Most Famous National Park to Save It From Wildfires
Trees have been cut to create fire guards in Banff, the country’s most popular national park. After its warmest winter in history, Canada braces for another season of wildfires.www.nytimes.com
Further north of town, mostly near the air strip, they have been doing a series of prescribed fires the last few years and had opened up a decent sized area through multiple low intensity burns...but it's still not a full barrier.
Now picture a 300-400m tall wall of flame (which is what I'm hearing), a big enough fire to create it's own lightning storm (and associated winds) , in a valley, with limited breaks, full of forest and dead trees.
Add in historic buildings and variable building codes over the last century and how many houses had fire proof roofs, let alone siding and landscaping...(hint few). And in-fill building has narrowed the gap between the old 1940's homes and the modern ones meters apart.
I won't be able to process this for a few days or weeks...just keep moving forward one step at a time. The only saving grace right now is so far I have not heard of any injuries or fatalities...because frankly that might be the only win possible here.
PrairieFella
Sr. Member
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Devastating.
foresterab
Full Member
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Was hoping for more to survive....but honestly that situation scared me for years and some worst case fears came true.
It is not the first time the valley has burned out...see this publication to give a better sense of the last 400 years.
Jasper Athabasca Valley Fires
Fark...not much more to say today.
It is not the first time the valley has burned out...see this publication to give a better sense of the last 400 years.
Jasper Athabasca Valley Fires
Fark...not much more to say today.
PrairieFella
Sr. Member
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Are you from Jasper?
daftandbarmy
Army.ca Dinosaur
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foresterab
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Unfortunately behind a account wall. Dont have Linkedin.
My wife and I were staying in one of the log cabins at Miette hotsprings last week until we were told to leave because of the Utopia Pass fire. QV is correct about the dead trees. I was looking at the mountainsides surrounding the hot springs and to my eye there were at least 2 dead trees for every live one. I spoke briefly to one of the Parks staff to inquire if there was any plan to clear out the dead trees and was informed that it was a natural occurrence and mostly due to 'climate change' and they weren't planning to do anything about it. I just walked away. Now a few days later we are paying an incredibly high price for what appears to me to be a criminal level of incompetence on the part of Parks Canada. The worst part is that no one will be held accountable for the loss of a lot of Canada's and Alberta's historic buildings in Jasper and area being burnt and huge loss of personal effects as well.
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It is really incredible that nobody was seriously injured when that fire accelerated up the valley right past the wildfire crews and into the town site. Really, really lucky that nobody was seriously injured.
daftandbarmy
Army.ca Dinosaur
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Forests are safest and most productive when they are not old growth... another inconvenient truth
Colin Parkinson
Army.ca Myth
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QV
Army.ca Veteran
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Easy weapon to wage environmental warfare with. We are in multiple domains of war right now (information, economic, cyber)… why wouldn’t an adversary also seek to destroy natural resources while draining financial resources also? Lots of ways to do this.. arson, contaminating waterways with invasive species, fires… pine beetle infestations. Maybe it’s time to think outside the box…
I’ll remove my tinfoil hat and show myself to the door now… wait, who am I kidding, the hat stays on!
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