Burnt buses and cars in Jasper in July, 2024. About a third of the town's structures were destroyed by wildfire a year ago.AMBER BRACKEN/The Canadian Press
About 200 Jasper, Alta., residents, some quietly wiping away tears, gathered on Tuesday to commemorate the one-year anniversary of a wildfire that destroyed one-third of the picturesque mountain community.
Speakers at the ceremony, which included officials from all levels of government, Parks Canada and an Indigenous elder, focused on the resilience of Jasper residents. They also paid respect to Morgan Kitchen, a 24-year-old wildland firefighter who died while battling the blaze.
Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland said the event served as recognition for all that residents have endured and the work that still lays ahead. He said gathering has been the community’s salvation after the fires and there was no more fitting way to come together one year later.
“While the initial shock and some of the aftershocks of the event may have subsided, the weight and the burden on the shoulders of residents has not diminished. In some cases, it may have increased as time itself becomes a heavy burden,” Mr. Ireland said.
“The strength and resilience of the community, which was revealed at the outset, continues to define and honour all of you.”
On July 22 last year, fast-growing wildfires prompted the late night evacuation of roughly 25,000 people from the town of Jasper and surrounding national park. Bone-dry conditions and gusting winds were food for the fires, which merged and formed a towering wall of flames that quickly consumed homes and businesses.
In total, 358 of 1,113 structures were wiped out by flames. Most of the damage was concentrated in the west side of Jasper where rows of houses were turned to ash, cars were reduced to burnt-out shells and once cherished belongings became nothing more than memories.
While the fire never returned to town, it continued to burn for many weeks, frying more than 32,000 hectares of land before coming under control last September. On the highway into Jasper, thousands of charred tree stems, like splinters in the forest’s skin, stretch as far as the eyes can see.
On Tuesday, cloudy skies gave way to stretches of blue after heavy rainfall overnight – the kind of weather that residents had dreamed of last year. At the anniversary event, which was held at Commemoration Park, much of the focus was on the road ahead.
Rebuilding has been a challenge already for the tight-knit community. The majority of properties that were destroyed by the fire have yet to receive the necessary permits and approvals to proceed with restoration. These delays are putting residents and business owners at risk of running out of insurance coverage.
The Jasper wildfire is the second-most expensive insured loss event in Canadian history after the 2016 Fort McMurray, Alta., blaze.
Mr. Ireland said it was known from the outset that recovery would not be quick or easy. He said residents are at varying stages of rebuilding their lives after the fire.
“We have differences in our circumstances, differences in our perspectives, yet, despite those differences, we remain united,” he said.
In the past week, tensions have been high between the municipality and province after the release of a town-commissioned report that concluded the Alberta government impeded the Jasper fire response.
Premier Danielle Smith has demanded an apology and that the report be retracted; Mr. Ireland has stood behind it and said he regrets that the report is being used as a “political document.”
Jasper mayor stands by critical wildfire report, not concerned with relationship with province
Alberta Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen did not mention the report in his public remarks but did list the province’s support efforts during the wildfire, which included sending firefighters, helicopters and other resources to help attack the blaze.
“Alberta’s government was here, working side by side with Parks Canada and the town of Jasper every step of the way,” he said, adding that the province continues to work in partnership with other levels of government to rebuild the town.
Eleanor Olszewski, federal Minister of Emergency Management, said during her remarks that recovery is not linear and involves “obstacles and frustrations.” She thanked everyone involved in the rebuild, adding that Jasper holds a special place in her heart.
“Jasper’s beauty and spirit have always inspired,” she said, her voice trembling. “And will continue to do so.”
Another speaker, Parks Canada president Ron Hallman, focused his remarks on the “heroes” of the Jasper response, including Mr. Kitchen, who died after being struck by a tree.
He offered his appreciation for the town and Parks Canada employees who helped evacuate thousands in the middle of the night even as their own friends and family left without them, in addition to the firefighters that protected others’ homes while their own turned to rubble.
“These are heroes,” he said. “We cannot forget what they’ve given.”
Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland, alongside several federal and provincial officials, commemorated the one-year anniversary of the town’s sudden evacuation due to multiple wildfires, which eventually destroyed about a third of the town’s structures. (July 22, 2025).
The Canadian Press