Memories of the destruction wrought by a wildfire that roared through Jasper National Park last summer are fuelling wildfire prevention efforts across the region.
The July 2024 wildfire destroyed one-third of the structures in Jasper’s historic townsite, 365 kilometres west of Edmonton.
“The situation we watched last summer was absolutely devastating,” says Nicholas Nissen, mayor of Hinton, Alta., a town 80 kilometres east of Jasper.
Since then, many displaced Jasperites have been calling the town of 10,000 home.
“I’m certain those people feel nervous when they look out at a big forest and see a summer coming.”
That’s part of the reason Nissen says they’re digging in this spring to prepare for the worst by reinforcing the firebreak south of town.
“You can see around us — the grass grows, the shrubs grow, the trees grow up so those firebreaks need to be re-done,” Nissen said this week, pointing to …