Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is criticizing a report into last summer's devastating Jasper wildfire that says her government hindered efforts to fight the blaze that destroyed a third of the Rocky Mountain townsite and sent 25,000 people fleeing.
“It is disheartening to see a report and the media response to that report that so clearly overlooks the substantial, coordinated efforts undertaken by the Alberta government during the Jasper wildfire,” Smith wrote Friday on social media.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amber Bracken
“Alberta’s 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 also called the report and media coverage of it “politically motivated,” but didn’t elaborate.
She said the purpose of such reports is to learn, adding, “We hope all jurisdictions take a closer look at their own deficiencies rather than blame others."
The report, released Thursday, was commissioned by the town of Jasper and based on surveys of firefighters and other emergency personnel. Feedback was also gathered through a one-day workshop with 68 attendees, including some from government agencies.
It says Smith’s government complicated the response by regularly requesting information and by attempting to make decisions despite not being jurisdictionally responsible, given that it's a national park.
"While Alberta Wildfire actively supported firefighting operations and participated in the (Incident Management Team), 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 re-entry," the report reads.
Smith, in her post, said the report either overlooks or ignores Alberta's contributions, such as providing firefighters, equipment and financial resources.
Other contributions Smith highlighted include setting up evacuation centres and mobilizing search and rescue teams.
“The report also fails to seriously address the broader and ongoing issue of forest management practices within national parks, an area of exclusive federal responsibility,” Smith wrote.
“The long-standing lack of adequate fuel reduction and forest health maintenance in these areas has contributed significantly to the wildfire risk facing communities such as Jasper and others.”
Opposition NDP leader Naheed Nenshi said in a statement that Smith should take her own advice.
"Rather than accepting responsibility and promising to do better, they do what they always do: lash out at any criticism, insult others and refuse to accept any blame for the mistakes they have made," Nenshi said.
Bill Given, Jasper's chief administrator, said the report isn't to lay blame.
In an interview, he said it should be considered "one chapter" in an overall look at the fire response, as its focus for improvements is municipal emergency plans.
"We were specifically asking, 'How can (the town) improve?' And in order to find out how you can improve, you look for gaps, you look at overlaps, you look for weaknesses, and then you go to address them moving forward," Given said.
Given said it was clear last summer that Jasper's unique jurisdictional circumstance made the response complicated, and the report affirms the need for all parties to understand each other’s roles.
Asked about the premier's criticism of the report, Given said he couldn't comment directly but that the town has always been grateful for the support the province provided.
He also reiterated that the report was written by independent consultants and based on surveys of those involved in the fire response.
"The spirit that the report is being put into the public is one of continuous improvement," Given said.
"We learned some hard lessons going through this event, and we want to ensure that we're doing justice and ensure that we are honouring the hard-earned experience of Jasperites by sharing our learnings so that other communities can be better prepared."
Other recommendations for improvement in the report include communication among front-line responders, and internal coordination with the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, which mobilizes resources for municipalities during emergencies.
While more recommendations for improvement are listed than highlights of success, the report says the overall response was a success, as the fire itself and quickly changing conditions meant responders had a tough task from the beginning.
The report came one week before the town was to mark the one-year anniversary of the fire.
The blaze hit town last July 24, destroying the homes of an estimated 2,000 residents. An estimated 25,000 residents and visitors were safely evacuated days earlier.
A 24-year-old wildland firefighter, Morgan Kitchen, was killed after a falling tree struck him while he battled the fire.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amber Bracken
