It’s been a successful year for the FireSmart program, led by Parks Canada vegetation specialist Alan Westhaver, in partnership with the municipality. 

The summer spent hosting block parties and educating residents has now turned to mapping out and creating fire barriers next to the B.C./Alberta border as the program moves into its final two phases. 

Westhaver said the program is completely on target, with funding expecting to run until March 11. The funding was a joint provincial and federal grant the town lobbied for on behalf of FireSmart. 

The program is now into phase three, with the major operation phases coming to their previously planned end. Now Westhaver and his crew will shift to further education of residents, which they have been doing all along, and a few major projects through the winter. 

“We’re really hopeful that we can keep encouraging people to do what they have to do to protect their home,” Westhaver said. “FireSmart is really a state of being.”

Municipality of Jasper Fire Chief Greg Van Tighem agrees. 

“Really FireSmart will never end,” he said. 

Now more responsibility will shift to each individual homeowner. This summer Westhaver, along with Deputy Fire Chief Ron Stanko, toured condo developments in Jasper hosting block parties. The two educated each group of citizens in a social setting, with a barbecue following the sessions. Westhaver said the program had a great response, with many work bees planned afterward. They also offered free hazard assessments at the block parties. 

“It’s more of a social event,” Van Tighem said. 

Westhaver estimates there is about a half days’ work still left to go stemming from those work bees. 

“There was some important work that needed to be done,” he said. 

The houses most at risk are those bordering Jasper, but Van Tighem and Westhaver also suggest homes inside the town are equally likely to be struck by drifting embers from nearby forest fires. 

“Homes around the perimeter are more at risk,” Westhaver said. “(But) there’s not that much difference.”

Westhaver said almost all businesses in Jasper have had the FireSmart program implemented. 

“The businesses have really jumped on board.” 

All government agencies except for local campgrounds have had FireSmart done on their properties as well. 

Westhaver said their goal was about 50-60 residences this year and they have achieved well over that, with more than 80 homes taking part this year. 

“(There are) still lots of residences that should give us a call,” he said. “We’ve actually achieved more than our goals.”

Van Tighem said this year has been a quiet one for forest fires. 

“This has probably been the slowest wildfire season that I remember.” 

That doesn’t mean the risk isn’t still out there. Westhaver is optimistic, like many Jasperites, that the weather could pick up for a few more hot, dry days before the snow flies for the season. 

“We’re still going through periods where 15,000 hectares of fire could burn easily,” he said. “It’s definitely winding down, but we could still get a block of nice weather.”

Right now grassy areas have stayed fairly green, but Westhaver said they can pose a risk once they begin to get brown into the fall. 

“Those fine grasses are very easily ignited.”

“Until the snow flies I guess we’re always at risk,” Van Tighem said. 

In 2003, the Syncline fire crept close to Jasper, burning 20,000 hectares over two days. Westhaver said a fire like that could easily happen again and where it is could determine its risk to the town. 

“It’s just where that fire ignites,” he said. 

Van Tighem and Westhaver have been to some tough fires that could have meant disaster for Jasper had it not been for the quick action of Parks Canada and the Jasper Fire Department. 

“Over the past few years we’ve had quite a few close calls,” Westhaver said, adding that some of those incidences were the inspiration for the FireSmart program that began in 1998. “Now we’re prepared.”

The program started off with forest thinning around Jasper, including Lake Edith. Phase two went into more comprehensive areas and ended with a third of areas still needing treatment. That’s when money ran out for the program, and the grant was sought. The federal and provincial governments contributed $1 million through the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta (FRIAA). 

“That was rather significant in my mind,” Van Tighem said, adding that before the government grant, the money had come out of Parks’ pocket. The governments turned down many applications, but accepted the FireSmart program as proposed.

There are still two FireSmart phases left that focus around residential awareness and patches of forest that need to be treated around the townsite. There are 12.5 hectares of steep slopes to the west of Jasper that need to be treated and specialized equipment that is low-impact will be brought in. 

“It’s kind of a specialized field,” Van Tighem said, adding that the steeper areas are expected to be finished before Christmas. 

The final element to FireSmart will be Strategic Control Lines, or fire barriers, around the town. The lines were proposed when the original FireSmart program was shown to experts. 

“There’s nothing but solid fuel for 20 to 30 kilometres upwards of the town,” Westhaver said. 

That had to change, so FireSmart’s fifth phase was developed. This winter, Westhaver and staff will be mapping out these strategic lines that are meant to re-direct or move the fire up and around the town. The lines will be between three and five metres wide, and shouldn’t provide a visible path. The lines can also be used in the event of the fire to light prescribed burns to burn up fuel, called burning out or back firing. 

“The main tactic we have is to fight fire with fire,” Westhaver said. “Either fight the fire, or steer the fire.”

There are 13 or 14 proposed strategic lines so far. An environmental impact assessment is being conducted and Westhaver said they should begin constructing the lines over the winter. Again, low impact machines will be used for the clearing. The lines will not be cleared right down to the soil, but trees and other fuel will be cleared. 

Westhaver said home owners can help out their local fire department and Parks by taking the initiative and “FireSmarting” their own home. 

“At the end of the day, guys like Greg and I are going to sleep a little easier at night,” he said. “It’s not what you do after the fire starts, it’s what you do before.”

More information can be found on the Municipality of Jasper’s website, and at www.partnersinprotection.ab.ca