Question Period Note: Role of Arctic Fire Safety Services in the Government’s response to the wildfires in Jasper National Park

Recent appearances before the Standing Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development on the Factors Leading to the Recent Fires in Jasper National Park.

• In a wildfire response, offered firefighting support is always considered, in most cases this also includes contracted fire services. This was the case in Jasper where many contracted and support agencies (other fire service members) were accepted as part of the incident structure. Without the incident command being informed and able to direct the resources it would be impossible to ensure firefighter safety and ensuring all emergency personnel can be accounted for.
• Arctic Fire Safety Services is a private for-profit company. They are contracted by Alberta WildFire Service where a small crew was requested by Alberta Wildfire and quickly released. Beyond this their role in the response to the Jasper wildfire has been misconstrued and misrepresented to imply incompetence in the management of the wildfire.
• To be clear, on July 25th, a full day after the fire had reached the town, Arctic Fire Safety showed up to work as a contractor for a private company, their presence was unannounced and independent of the unified incident command structure in place, including their contract with Alberta Wildfire. As with all contractors they were sent to check in with unified incident command. They were provided with temporary access to their contracted site with the commitment they would provide safety and control documents, which they never signed.
• Arctic Fire Services’ did not follow any known fire fighting protocols hence their presence led to confusion, and serious safety concerns.

• Arctic Fire Safety Services is an Alberta-based independent business. They were contracted by Alberta Wildfire for this fire season to supply structural protection units, and in some situations supply wildland firefighting support.
• Through Unified Command, the municipality requested resources from Alberta Wildfire, and Arctic Fire Safety Services was a small part of the resources Alberta provided to the Jasper National Park wildfire response. Neither Parks Canada nor the Municipality of Jasper specifically requested them.
o The decision to deploy a National Incident Management Team was made on July 22, 2024, the same day the wildfire started. Unified Command was established between Parks Canada and the Municipality of Jasper. Wildfire firefighters and others from Ontario, Alberta, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince-Edward-Island were deployed to assist the firefighting efforts over the course of the fire. At the height of the response, there were 850 responding personnel on the incident.
• Arctic Fire Safety Services subsequently returned to the park, to the townsite, to perform private contract work.
• Timeline:
o July 22: Ignition of Jasper Wildfire Complex
o July 23: Structural fire resources arrive to support the structural protection efforts in town, including two fire trucks and five personnel total from Arctic Fire contracted by the Province of Alberta. The contingent was under resourced as each truck was supposed to have four personnel per truck, for a total of eight people. Their role was limited to structural fire support in town, not wildland fire operations and they reported through the Alberta and Municipal urban interface chain of command.
o July 24: Wildfire reaches Municipality of Jasper (structures burnt through the night)
o July 25: Contracted by Pursuit, an additional 20 fire trucks and 50 crew from Arctic Fire arrive at the highway check point, too late to contribute to saving structures within the town from burning.
o In this instance, Arctic Fire Safety Services was engaged by Pursuit to protect Pursuit properties, without engagement with or accountability to the Unified Command. With objectives outside the greater wildfire complex incident, Arctic Fire Services’ presence led to confusion, competition for resources and serious safety concerns.
o July 26: The main incident in town is over. The original two Arctic Fire trucks are released from the incident.
• Arctic Fire Safety Services billed the Municipality for more than $70,000 for four days of work (for the two fire trucks and five personnel). For two of those days (July 23 and July 26), the invoice listed ‘travel’ as the only work performed.
• While contracted by Pursuit (arrival July 25, 2024), Arctic Fire Services conducted structural fire protection work at property located outside the townsite in an area closed due to the fire danger. Work was not conducted under Unified Command.
• Parks Canada didn’t actively ask the contractor to leave but ensured they had working communication with Unified Command firefighting operations to help ensure their and others’ safety. Unified Command did not direct their actions nor condone their presence but made sure that lines of communication were in place to help ensure their safety. The company’s work at the property outside town has led to environmental damage concerns which are currently under investigation.
• About a possible video of them being turned around:
o Video of Arctic Fire Services could have been taken after their release from the incident by Alberta, and upon their return to the incident as an independent contractor for a private business operator.
o Check-stops controlled access to Jasper National Park due to wildfire danger. For safety, only those on a list of requested resources were permitted entry.
o No longer part of the incident, they were not on the list of requested resources to be permitted entry into the closed area.
o After clarification of what they were doing, they were granted entry to the park. Basic agreements on where they would be and how they would communicate with the Incident Command were outlined to ensure their and others’ safety.
• Parks Canada has significant capacity to respond to wildfires with 300 staff members, including wildland firefighters and incident management teams. Parks Canada collaborates with international partners, provinces and territories when additional capacity is required.
• Parks Canada conducted significant wildfire risk reduction projects in Jasper National Park, including a total of 4,600 hectares burned through 45 prescribed fires from 1994 to 2024. In addition to prescribed fires, 1,700 hectares were treated with fuel reduction in and around the Jasper community.
• When the wildfire started, Jasper was experiencing the driest fuels since weather records began in 1962. Record fuel dryness and extreme weather led to a massive wildfire too dangerous for any direct suppression.
• Re-entry for Jasper residents and businesses began on August 16, 2024. This means that the townsite was deemed safe with a basic level of services in place for residents and businesses to return to begin the process of recovery.
• September 7, 2024, the wildfire in Jasper National Park was declared under control, which means that the wildfire had received sufficient suppression action to ensure no further spread of the fire.

On July 22, 2024, a lightning storm caused a wildfire in Jasper National Park. This wildfire quickly became out of control and resulted in the evacuation of over 20,000 people on July 23, the loss of 30% of structures in the Jasper townsite, the closure of the national park, and the burning of thousands of hectares of forest. The wildfire was declared under control on September 7, 2024.