As the wildfire in Fort McMurray continues to burn out of control, Jasper's emergency and social services have reached out to help.
Community Outreach Services hosted a dinner for about 35 people displaced by the wildfire, May 9. The dinner was an opportunity for people to meet one another and ensure evacuees had everything they needed.
鈥淲e wanted to have this dinner not so much to feed people, but give people the opportunity to connect with other people and to take this opportunity to make sure they know what's available to them,鈥� said Kathleen Waxer, director of community and family services.
She said it's nearly impossible to determine how many evacuees are in town, but thanked Parks Canada for delivering notices to people who were registered from Fort McMurray and also thanked local restaurants for providing food for the dinner.
Upon news of the fire, fire chief Greg Van Tighem was immediately in contact with the Alberta Emergency Management Agency's provincial operations centre.
鈥淲hat the provincial operations centre did is it sent out an email or a call out to all the fire chiefs that said this is the situation if you could help us what could you supply,鈥� explained Van Tighem.
In response to that email, he offered a structural protection unit trailer, an SUV to pull the trailer and a crew of five firefighters to help battle the wildfire, but so far the offer hasn't been needed.
鈥淭he other thing that every fire chief has to be conscious of is you have to also understand that your number one priority is your own community so you can't deploy resources that are needed in your community,鈥� said Van Tighem.
The last time Jasper's fire department deployed its firefighters to another community was in 2003 to help Cranbrook, B.C. fight a wildfire that was threatening the city.
As part of Van Tighem's job, he聽 reached out to Dave Smith, a fire and vegetation specialist with Parks Canada, to assess the fire forecast for the next few weeks.
He also spoke with Mayor Richard Ireland to update him on the situation in Fort McMurray and the potential fire risk to the community.
鈥淗is big question was whether I felt comfortable that if we were called to deploy I could maintain that deployment plus maintain safety of the community of Jasper,鈥� said Van Tighem.
鈥淢y answer was it depends. It depends on the conditions at the time and it depends on the forecast so we could get called in a week, a day or three weeks and we can't answer that question and accept a deployment until we figure out our local situation.鈥�
He said Jasper is currently at a lower risk for wildfires than the rest of the province, but that doesn't mean the risk isn't there.
鈥淚n Jasper, as everybody knows, we're right in the middle of the biggest national park in Canada and the biggest forest so we are extremely vulnerable,鈥� said Van Tighem.
He stressed the most important thing is that people are prepared before an emergency happens.
鈥淚 can't say how important it is for individuals to be prepared and to take care of themselves in the event of a major emergency,鈥� said Van Tighem.
鈥淭he response agencies and emergency agencies are potentially going to be overwhelmed so if, for example, we had a 30 minute or a three hour evacuation notice, people have to realize they need to have a vehicle ready and their 72 hour kit, they need to have that ready to go, right now.鈥�
Van Tighem said one of the most important things is to always have a full tank of gas. He pointed to the number of cars that were stuck on the side of the highway getting out of Fort McMurray because they ran out of fuel.
鈥淚n Jasper there's three gas stations and there's 5,000 residents and potentially 20,000 tourists, it's logistically not possible for everybody to get gas. It's just not going to happen.鈥�
He also said it's really important for people who don't have access to a vehicle to know where to go in the event of an evacuation, such as the Jasper Royal Canadian Legion.
The Jasper RCMP have also sent resources to Fort McMurray, sending Const. Patrick Vallee and a support staff to the city.
鈥淗e's part of a special team that works in these types of emergency situations,鈥� explained RCMP Sgt. Rick Bidaisee.
He said there's a chance that more officers and staff from Jasper could be sent and it's not clear how long the two that are already there will be in Fort McMurray.
No emergency medical services (EMS) personnel or equipment from Jasper was sent to Fort McMurray, however four staff from Hinton were deployed, according to Paul Kennedy, the executive director of operations for Associated Ambulance, which is responsible for overseeing Jasper's emergency medical services.
鈥淲e run 21 towns, but Jasper itself didn't have anyone go,鈥� said Kennedy, adding eight ambulances or about 34 staff were sent from the region to help.
People from Fort McMurray who have been displaced by the wildfire are encouraged to contact Community Outreach Services at 780-852-2100 Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or 780-852-6539 evenings or weekends. Alternatively people can stop by at 627 Patricia Street.
Paul Clarke
[email protected]
