The Municipality of Jasper has received the Disaster Recovery Institute Canada’s (DRI Canada) Award of Excellence.

The honours were bestowed on the municipality for its courageous response to the July 2024 Jasper wildfire, the largest in more than 100 years in Jasper National Park.

The municipality’s wildfire response stands as a testament to the strength of coordinated emergency planning, compassionate leadership, and adaptable business continuity strategies, according to the Disaster Recovery Institute of Canada.

Through a focus on community wellbeing, the municipality protected lives, maintained essential services, and supported its residents and employees through a devastating crisis and its eventual recovery. 

“We had to move quickly and our first priority was the public’s safety,” said Jasper Mayor, Richard Ireland. “Getting people out of danger became of paramount importance, and fortunately we were prepared for this type of natural disaster.” 

For its outstanding efforts, the local government in Jasper has been awarded DRI Canada’s Response and Recovery Award, which recognizes the ability of an organization to effectively respond to and recover from a disaster using the principles of business continuity, disaster recovery, and emergency management. 

Perry Ruehlen, executive director of DRI Canada, says Jasper’s response to the 2024 wildfires exemplifies the best type of response to a disruptive event or disaster. 

“Jasper’s ability to respond to the level and effectiveness that they did was rooted in its proactive preparedness and strong business continuity planning, which ensured critical services could be restored quickly and the community supported effectively throughout the disaster,” Ruehlen said.

DRI Canada is a nonprofit organization that certifies, educates, and supports professionals in business continuity, disaster recovery, and emergency preparedness. The organization plays a central role in setting national standards for resilience education and leadership.

Incident and Response

In July 2024, a wildfire was reported near the Jasper Transfer Station. Within a half hour, a second wildfire was reported near Kerkeslin Campground. Those outbreaks were followed by several more wildfires that were ignited in Jasper National Park by a combination of dry conditions and strong, gusting wind.

Within hours, Jasper National Park was grappling with a wildfire that had spread over 6,000 hectares of land. It was the largest wildfire in Jasper in more than 100 years. Municipal officials wasted no time coordinating a response. 

Unified Command, which runs disaster response in the park and for the municipality, quickly moved to evacuate people from the wildfire zone. Within an hour, several campgrounds were cleared out and the Town of Jasper itself was placed under an evacuation order. Ultimately, more than 25,000 people were evacuated from the park and town.

Emergency crews that consisted of hundreds of firefighters were deployed to combat the wildfires. The Emergency Coordination Centre (ECC) activated immediately and operated in conjunction with Unified Command and Parks Canada. 

The fire ultimately resulted in the loss of 30 percent of the Municipality of Jasper’s buildings and other structures, including about 800 residential units. Entire neighbourhoods were decimated and key municipal infrastructure was put at risk. Local government operations, economic stability, and resident wellbeing were all disrupted by the disaster. 

Despite the challenges and accompanying stress, essential services such as water, wastewater, social services and communications continued throughout the wildfire emergency thanks to the careful planning, organization, and execution of municipal officials. In this situation, emergency response and business continuity plans proved to be invaluable, DRI says.

In the end, the Municipality of Jasper executed a steady, coordinated response that was grounded in compassion, practical support, and a shared commitment to service continuity, Ruehlen said.

As conditions stabilized, a phased re-entry plan was enacted to ensure a safe and organized return to the community.

“As one community, we will walk this new road together, every step of the way,” Mayor Ireland said about the recovery that continues today. 

Joel Baglole // info@thejasperlocal.com

Joel Baglole is the Director of Communications for DRI Canada