A parliamentary committee was told this week that private firefighters who had driven to Jasper National Park to fight the July wildfire were turned away by Parks Canada.
Parks Canada firefighting coordination decisions 'need to be made a lot quicker': fire services contractor | CTV News | Jeremy Thompson & Craig Ellingson:
October 8, 2024 - "A private firefighting service provider says crews contracted to work to protect buildings in and around the town of Jasper during July's wildfire emergency were denied entry to the national park for most of a day. Kris Liivam, the president of Arctic Fire Safety Services, says unclear communication from emergency managers hampered efforts by his crews, who thought they had written permission to enter the national park on July 25, the day after a powerful wildfire destroyed a third of the townsite but with the fire risk still high despite heavy rain.
"At the time, a small Arctic Fire Safety Services crew was already in Jasper, under contract to provincial Alberta Wildfire, working to protect the town. Meanwhile, in Hinton, more of Liivan's team was trying to enter the park -- more than a dozen trucks and about 50 firefighters who had been hired to protect specific properties including Marmot Basin, the Jasper Sky Tram and several hotels.
"'We thought we had everything in place, for permission to go in,' Liivan told CTV News Edmonton on Tuesday. 'Once we got to the first RCMP stop, we were denied entry and we had to turn around and head back to Hinton.'
"Liivam recently voiced his frustrations to a parliamentary committee looking into the Jasper wildfire, telling it his crews 'encountered numerous examples of Parks Canada fire management actively obstructing our activities and not providing us with relevant information on the fire.'
"A Parks Canada spokesperson says ... [that] 'they were eventually allowed in with specific instructions, and helped to fight the fire, which could have had far worse consequences without this swift and effective handling.'"
Shocking new Jasper wildfire revelations put blame on Parks Canada | True North | October 10, 2024:
How the tragic Jasper wildfire turned into just another political weapon | Calgary Herald | Don Braid:
October 8, 2024 - "The great Jasper wildfire of July and August simmers on.... Over two weeks, MPs have been sniping at each other in meetings of a parliamentary committee on environment and sustainable development....
"Throughout, federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault [has] claimed that Ottawa could not have done better either before or during the fire. At any suggestion that Ottawa was lacking, he trotted out climate change as the true culprit. It was clear more than once that a big ugly fire in Alberta is a great boost for his climate agenda. Focusing on climate also turned minds away from serious questions about Ottawa’s performance as the power in charge of both prevention and firefighting.
"For instance, why was a convoy of firefighters with 20 trucks turned away from the park gate like tourists who can’t afford a pass? That actually happened. Private firefighter Kristopher Liivam testified that his crew wasn’t there on spec. There had been discussions with officials. They clearly understood they would be admitted. But Parks Canada turned firefighters away from a fire. That was three days after the fire began, just as things were getting really dangerous.
"Alberta deputy premier Mike Ellis, who spoke to the hearing, said in an interview Tuesday that he was 'very concerned' to hear about the episode. 'Certainly, our position would be that we wouldn’t be turning away anybody' if Alberta had been part of joint command.... Denied any authority, Alberta needed federal permission to bring in helicopters, water bombers, surveillance drones, bulldozers and other equipment. The refusal to grant joint command was both bizarre and churlish."
Read more: https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/braid-jasper-wildfire-political-weapon
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