Jasper is expected to see substantial rebuilding this winter and contractors are focusing on pouring foundations while the weather cooperates.
Foundation pours are likely to continue until late November or early December.
Parks Canada has issued 75 building permits as of Friday, October 24, with 36 of these properties having their foundations in and four being ready for occupancy.
“We were anticipating that we would get approximately 75 construction starts this year based on all the factors and considerations,” said Michael Fark, the Municipality’s Director of Recovery. “We’re more or less on track for where we expected to be.”
Once foundations are in, the remaining work on the units can continue throughout the winter. This will include framing as well as interior and exterior finishing.
Property owners who aren’t yet ready to rebuild will use the winter to deal with preliminary work such as sorting out insurance, design considerations, hiring a contractor and submitting their permit applications, with the hope of starting on their foundations in the spring. Fark noted they were anticipating a significant increase in permit applications over the winter.
Around 280 households representing more than 500 people are currently staying in interim housing, with 180 households at Marmot Meadows, south of the townsite. Within town, four sites are fully occupied, and officials are working to add units to three more sites and are expecting additional move-ins over the next six to eight weeks.
Fark estimated the three new sites will add 30 additional units to the inventory, which should house between 50 and 70 people.
Some seasonal workers have moved out, allowing others to backfill those units, but that still leaves more than 100 households on the waitlist.
“We still have more demand for interim housing than supply that we’ve been able to provide,” Fark said. “And then come the spring when seasonal employees that come into town are present, the demand will be higher at that point.”
Fark estimated it would take three to five years for most of Jasper to be rebuilt, but some projects would continue beyond that.
Overall recovery, which includes economic and social recovery, will take eight to 10 years, the Jasper Recovery Coordination Centre estimates. A significant consideration is how quickly the accommodation inventory can be restored and how fast Parks Canada can reopen campgrounds damaged in the wildfire.
The JRCC has also organized multiple initiatives, such as the pop-up business village, to help local businesses survive until visitation numbers return to pre-fire levels.
“Jasper has been a very resilient community,” Fark said. “Obviously, there are a number of challenges that the community has faced, but people are coming together and finding ways to work through it.”
He added there has been a coming to terms with the complexity of a full recovery and how much work will be required.
“There’s a need for residents to be patient and businesses to be patient and to collaborate and work together,” he said. “That is our best opportunity to ensure a holistic recovery for all involved.”
Peter Shokeir // info@thejasperlocal.com
