According to newly unearthed documents, the Liberal government was warned as early as 2017 that Jasper was a “tinderbox” waiting to explode but climate activists within the government refused to alter the “pristine environment.”According to documents obtained by the Western Standard, the Jasper National Park Management Plan identified the mountain pine beetle as a major risk for wildfires as far back as July 22, 2016.“Mountain pine beetle expansion in Jasper National Park and associated forest ‘may’ increase wildfire risk to values on neighbouring land," said the plan.In Jasper National Park alone, 1.1 million hectares were identified as at risk from an infestation that spread from British Columbia starting in 2006. “The presence of a large number of dead and dying trees is thought to to increase the risk of wildfire in the national park and surrounding area and this has been partially supported by the observation that in 2017 in British Columbia about one-third of forest fires were occurring in the dead stands,” it said.The Alberta Forest Service and Parks Canada approved a forest management plan but it was rejected by the Liberal government, documents show..In 2018, a pair of retired forestry workers who had worked in Jasper for more than 40 years, Emile Begin and Ken Hodges, warned officials at Parks Canada that a major fire in the Jasper area was “an inevitability” if it didn’t take steps to remove the abundance of dead fuel from the pine beetle.“You’ve got a major catastrophe on your hands if you get a match thrown into that,” they said. “If yo do not reduce that fuel, then you’re leaving a fire that might burn similar to what happened in Waterton.”In September, 2017 a major fire destroyed about 30% of the park including 70% of the forested area in it. Miraculously, the historic Prince of Wales of Hotel was saved by mere metres.But Parks Canada officials described the pine beetle infestation as “natural” and were reluctant to do anything about it.“Jasper is located in a forested environment and wildfires are always a concern to us,” said Alan Fehr, park superintendent at the time. “We’re quite comfortable with where we are with our own entrench planning and evacuation planning. We’re constantly trying to learn and improve and respond to conditions and the change in vegetation over time.”
According to newly unearthed documents, the Liberal government was warned as early as 2017 that Jasper was a “tinderbox” waiting to explode but climate activists within the government refused to alter the “pristine environment.”According to documents obtained by the Western Standard, the Jasper National Park Management Plan identified the mountain pine beetle as a major risk for wildfires as far back as July 22, 2016.“Mountain pine beetle expansion in Jasper National Park and associated forest ‘may’ increase wildfire risk to values on neighbouring land," said the plan.In Jasper National Park alone, 1.1 million hectares were identified as at risk from an infestation that spread from British Columbia starting in 2006. “The presence of a large number of dead and dying trees is thought to to increase the risk of wildfire in the national park and surrounding area and this has been partially supported by the observation that in 2017 in British Columbia about one-third of forest fires were occurring in the dead stands,” it said.The Alberta Forest Service and Parks Canada approved a forest management plan but it was rejected by the Liberal government, documents show..In 2018, a pair of retired forestry workers who had worked in Jasper for more than 40 years, Emile Begin and Ken Hodges, warned officials at Parks Canada that a major fire in the Jasper area was “an inevitability” if it didn’t take steps to remove the abundance of dead fuel from the pine beetle.“You’ve got a major catastrophe on your hands if you get a match thrown into that,” they said. “If yo do not reduce that fuel, then you’re leaving a fire that might burn similar to what happened in Waterton.”In September, 2017 a major fire destroyed about 30% of the park including 70% of the forested area in it. Miraculously, the historic Prince of Wales of Hotel was saved by mere metres.But Parks Canada officials described the pine beetle infestation as “natural” and were reluctant to do anything about it.“Jasper is located in a forested environment and wildfires are always a concern to us,” said Alan Fehr, park superintendent at the time. “We’re quite comfortable with where we are with our own entrench planning and evacuation planning. We’re constantly trying to learn and improve and respond to conditions and the change in vegetation over time.”
