Hotel employee leads fire crew to Bear Hill flames

A hotel employee assisted Parks Canada in putting out a fire on Bear Hill the evening of Aug. 13 that’s believed to have been lit by illegal campers.

“We got a call from the Sawridge, saying a guest had come in and reported there was a fire behind the hotel,” said Dave Smith, fire and vegetation specialist with Parks. “It was quite small, only about five to six square metres, but given how dry everything is and the fact it was blowing that night it had all the potential to get up and run.”

Because the fire danger in the park was high that night, a helicopter was on stand-by. “Within five minutes of the call the rotors were spinning,” Smith said. “When we got to Sawridge, lo and behold if we didn’t see a staff member waving us down and pointing.”

Bellman Fred Desbiens, from Montreal, had encountered a pair in the lobby that was concerned after seeing smoke on Bear Hill. “They were really worried,” he said. “You could see in their eyes something was up.”

The 25-year-old followed the burning smell up the hill using his hiking experience to navigate and spotted the flames. “You could tell it wasn’t going to stop,” Desbiens said. “Then I could see the helicopter so I showed them the fire.”

The fire crew proceeded to douse the site with three buckets, or about 900 gallons of water, using the helicopter. At the beginning of this week, the fire danger rating was extreme.

Smith was reminded of a fire back on Canada Day in 2006 that threatened Jasper Park Lodge. “We’re sort of in the same predicament, that something as small as a cigarette can go up,” Smith said, adding that in an average year the park will have about a half dozen fires as a result specifically of illegal camping. 

In the park, camping is prohibited anywhere outside a campground and violators can be charged under the National Parks Act and face up to a $2,000 fine.

What stands out in Smith’s mind about last week’s event is not only the camper’s disregard, but also Desbiens’ assistance. “It had the potential of compromising the town and the railroad and everything else so it shows that people do illegally camp and have fires and we have to concern ourselves with that,” he said. “But the other story is the gentleman who went up there and found the fire and was able to direct us in.”

“The real story I believe is the good work of the staff member,” Smith said. “If nobody had spotted that fire I firmly believe the potential was there for that fire to take off and we’d have a real issue.”

But to Desbiens, the fire crew deserves the credit. “It’s funny because I was there but they are the people who put out the fire,” he said. “My job is bellman.”

Smith said the fire danger was expected to lessen by the end of the week as the weather changed.