The Fire Danger Rating in Jasper National Park is currently聽'Moderate', but set to increase as temperatures rise, and grass and vegetation in the valley bottom dry out.
"Spring dip" is the time between聽the snow melting聽and the聽plants gaining their leaves.
With no leaves on trees and shrubs, the sun is able to reach directly to the ground, and until plants green-up and sprout new life, they hold very little water.
Plant moisture is typically at its lowest during the Spring Dip, so in Jasper this usually means elevated fire danger near the end of May.
This week, May 3-9, is national Emergency Preparedness Week. Jasperites are being urged to be ready in case of emergency and Parks Canada has released wildfire updates.
Planning for the 2020 fire season
Parks Canada said its focus now is on having healthy and prepared fire crews for the upcoming season. Fire crews are using this time to maintain their physical fitness, review pre-season training materials at home, and to test and service equipment.
Parks is working with the Alberta Agriculture and Forestry and the Municipality of Jasper to undertake virtual training and emergency and evacuation planning, and developing plans for maintaining staff safety if someone should fall ill on the fireline.
Fire bans may be used, as well as other tools such as area closures, to reduce the risk of human-caused wildfires. Decisions on the best use of these tools will be based on the current fire hazard, resource availability and COVID-19 situations.
All prescribed fires are suspended until further notice to ensure the best availability of our resources to protect public safety.
New in the JNP fire program for 2020
In addition to existing fire management personnel in Jasper and a helicopter dedicated to fire response already in place, Parks Canada has increased the capacity of the fire program in Jasper with added staff and resources.
Two new weather stations at Maligne Lake (25 kilometres south) and Ranger Creek (35 kilometres south of Jasper townsite) have been added to the existing four that collect information used to calculate fire danger and conditions across the vast geography of the park.
There is a second four-person initial attack fire crew of Type-1 firefighters, a second fire technician and Parks Canada is currently seeking applications for one fire crew member.
Jasper also has a new fire management officer, Katie Ellsworth from Wood Buffalo National Park, who is involved in all aspects of the fire program, including working with the fire techs to track and communicate daily fire danger risk, training and equipping firefighters to be ready to respond.
