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Winnipeg Free Press

Jasper bouncing back after historic wildfire

JASPER, ALTA. — After last summer's devastating wildfire, Jasper is on the road to recovery. For locals, that recovery is ongoing but for businesses and the local economy at large, it means welcoming outsiders back, now. It's a delicate dance. 'We're in this together,' read posters around town put up by the Municipality of Jasper. The posters address both Jasper residents and visitors. They acknowledge Jasperites' grief, loss and complex emotions, and note visitors may be experiencing these same feelings. To visitors, the message is 'welcome back,' but the municipality urges people not to fixate on what was lost but rather to ask locals what they love about their home. Katrina Clarke / Free Press A view of Jasper National Park and its townsite in March 2025. Katrina Clarke / Free Press A view of Jasper National Park and its townsite in March 2025. For longtime Jasperite Colin Borrow, this is a period of adjustment. He is the director of skiing at Marmot Basin mountain ski resort, which was mercifully spared in the July 2024 fire. But many of his colleagues lost their homes, accommodation for seasonal staff is tight and tourists have fewer places to stay. 'Roulette' is how Borrow describes what the fire destroyed and spared. Some homes sit untouched but are surrounded by others that burned to the ground. Much of the downtown strip is still standing but there are random gaps where businesses once stood. About 33,000 hectares burned throughout Jasper National Park. Things are different, Borrow says, but the mountains are still here. The wildlife is still here. The community is here. And for those who do come to ski, they get the added benefit of an uncrowded and spectacular mountain. (I skied for two days and didn't wait in a single line or share a chairlift. It felt as if I had the entire mountain to myself. Did I mention there was 20 centimetres of fresh powder and bluebird days during my visit?). Borrow notes the mountain is Canadian-owned and operated. Amid the ongoing tariff standoff with the United States, his hope is Canadians will be more inclined to support domestic businesses like Marmot Basin. Amber Bracken / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES A devastating wildfire last summer caused evacuations and widespread damage in Alberta's Jasper National Park and the Jasper townsite. Amber Bracken / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES A devastating wildfire last summer caused evacuations and widespread damage in Alberta's Jasper National Park and the Jasper townsite. My first visit to Jasper was in the winter of 2024, a few months before the fire. Coming back a year later, knowing one-third of structures in the town had burned, I wasn't sure what to expect. It was incredible to see how much survived. I went on hikes where there was no evidence of fire and ate at restaurants I'd loved the year before. But it was also sad to see how bare some mountains looked, how entire neighbourhoods were destroyed and how much residential clean-up is left to do. Still, I felt welcomed by those in the community, and I tried to show appreciation and respect where I could. Others felt the same. Jacqueline Hillyer, visiting from the U.K., said she only knew a little about the fires before arriving in March. The scorched mountainsides only made the scenery more interesting to her. But she could feel the weight of grief and loss residents still grapple with. 'There's a sadness and a heaviness,' she said, referring to discussions she had with shop owners or overheard conversations. She hoped her visit was doing something positive for locals, supporting their economy when the future is still in flux. Gazing out at the stunning mountain view over breakfast at the historic Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, Daniel Ross, public relations manager with the lodge, said it's important to strike the right balance when it comes to addressing the impact of the fire with guests. The view from the resort, for instance, has changed — mountainside trees burned into toothpicks and edges of the resort property along with a few structures were also affected. It came within metres of one of the resort's most luxurious signature cabins where Queen Elizabeth once stayed and sadly, another of the cabins was destroyed. In many ways though, much remains the same — elk eat grass just metres away, the outdoor pool and hot tub overlook the emerald-coloured Lac Beauvert and impressive mountains surround us. Ross is looking forward to summer, when wildflowers are expected to carpet the forest floor post-fire. The resort is also undergoing extensive renovations unrelated to the fire with the goal of elevating the lodge's rustic charm. Jasper tour guide Jeff Hanson reminds those on his Sundog Tours bus that forest fires are a natural part of the ecological cycle. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. 'It's how Mother Nature rejuvenates the forest,' said Hanson. He is leading the Wildlife of Jasper and Ecology of Fire tour. More than a dozen visitors from the U.K. and across Canada and the U.S. are on board. The fire itself has generated tourism. We drive past charred forests as he points out animals thriving in the new landscape — elk abound. Plentiful berry bushes are expected to soon draw more bears too. Still, it takes years for forests devastated by fire to return to what they once were. We pass by an area of fire from 2015. Small evergreen trees a few feet high are starting to make their mark on the forest floor. We pass through an area the fire didn't reach, with evergreens heavily laden with snow. Someone on the bus shouts, 'Moose!' We drive slowly and spot a mama moose resting nearby with an excited calf darting between trees behind her. 'Obviously, everything is not quite back to normal yet,' Hanson said at the end of the tour. 'But as we saw today, the animals are still here — and thriving.' Katrina ClarkeInvestigative reporter Katrina Clarke is an investigative reporter at the Winnipeg Free Press. Katrina holds a bachelor's degree in politics from Queen's University and a master's degree in journalism from Western University. She has worked at newspapers across Canada, including the National Post and the Toronto Star. She joined the Free Press in 2022. Read more about Katrina. 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