As a mushroom cloud appeared over Signal Mountain, July 9, the community mobilized.
At the time, it wasn’t clear whether the wildfire was a threat to the townsite or not.
The sight was apocalyptic and rumours were quick to spread, with regional and national media fear mongering with deceptive headlines suggesting Jasper National Park was being evacuated—not just the Maligne Valley.
Fortunately, it didn’t take long for the correct information to come out: a forest fire was burning near Excelsior Creek, along the shores of Medicine Lake.
As Parks Canada’s communications team released the news, the community’s first responders were already in action.
Parks’ visitor safety team had its sights set on protecting the folks recreating and working in the Maligne Valley. The Jasper RCMP had barricades at the base of Maligne Lake Road, ensuring no one could enter the area. The Municipality of
Jasper had activated its emergency coordination centre and it was planning for a number of different scenarios, including a town-wide evacuation—which was thankfully never enacted.
It was a matter of hours before Parks had a slew of evacuees out of the valley and safely congregated in town, with SunDog Tours dropping them off at the reception centre set up by Community Outreach Services and Jasper Victim Services.
Jasper can be proud of its quick response. In the face of danger, it pulled together and, as a result, no facilities were lost, no one was injured and everyone has been accounted for.
In an emergency, it takes the whole community to pull off a seamless response. As Parks, the RCMP and the municipality ensured the public was safe, the 51°µÍø worked with Parks’ communications team to make sure the public was informed with the most up to date information.
At the same time, staff at Maligne Lake Tours was helping to protect its facilities, moving tour boats to Fisherman’s Bay and Coronet Creek campgrounds and laying sprinklers, while staff at Maligne Canyon Hostel was ensuring each of its guests was accounted for and had access to transportation into town.
In the following days, fire crews worked diligently to create a perimeter around the fire and after some much needed rain, they began fighting the blaze from the ground and the air.
In the face of danger, the community’s first responders pulled together and proved, yet again, they are prepared for just about anything.
The 51°µÍø would like to extend its appreciation to the firefighters who continue to fight the blaze, as well as to those who have come and gone. The Excelsior Wildfire could have turned out much differently without the expertise and quick thinking of those brave folks on the ground and in the air.
We wish them all a safe return home, wherever that might be, and thank them from the bottom of our hearts.
