Calgary’s emergency responders are answering the call to assist in the devastating wildfire that over the afternoon and evening of July 24, moved in to the townsite of Jasper.
The City of Calgary said late in the evening that they had deployed 19 members of Canada Task Force 2 (CANTF2), following a request by the Alberta Emergency Management Agency.
CAN-TF2 is an all-disaster response team, based in Calgary, that has the ability to respond to multiple types of emergencies including wildfires—and has done so for forest fires like the the 2016 Fort McMurray fire, and the Chuckegg Creek Wildfire in 2019.
“This is a really diverse team. It includes emergency managers, paramedics, firefighters, fire chiefs and police officers under the leadership of Deputy Chief Coby Duerr as our task force commander. They will be serving in various emergency operations roles and the incident command post,” said Calgary Emergency Management Agency Chief Sue Henry.
“Their role is to support the local authority, provide capacity and expertise in emergency response and emergency planning.”
Henry said that the City of Calgary would not be deploying any Calgary Fire Department firefighters due to availability of firefighting apparatus.
Images coming out of Jasper on the morning of July 25 revealed scenes of destruction. Video shared to social media showed houses burnt down, hotels destroyed, and community buildings devastated.
Parks Canada, speaking to the extent of the damage, saying the ongoing wildfire which was still raging around the town made it impossible to share specifics about the damage done.
“Due to the ongoing fire conditions and our focus on the response effort, it is impossible to share information about specific locations and the extent of damage at this time,” they wrote.
Premier Danielle Smith, speaking on July 25, called it the worst nightmare for any community.
“Alberta stands ready to assist in every way that we can, and I have asked Minister of Public Safety [Dominic] LeBlanc, to move to a unified command structure so that Alberta can better help. We hope to hear a positive response, response from Parks Canada on this. And in the meantime we will continue to provide any and all support that they request in any way that we can.”
Premier Smith was planning to meet with Minister of Emergency Preparedness Harjit Sajjan in Edmonton later on July 25.
Minister of Public Safety Mike Ellis said that the province was doing anything they could to save the remaining buildings in the town.
He said that the province had activated to a level four response, and that firefighters from over 32 municipalities along with Lakeland College and industrial firefighters were requested by the Alberta Emergency Management Agency to provide support.
Information issues lead to misunderstandings at reception centre overnight
Mayor Jyoti Gondek addressed issues with the temporary closure of the the City of Calgary’s Jasper evacuee reception centre on the evening of July 24, saying that although signage had indicated it had been closed at 5 p.m., it remained open until after 10 p.m., and then reopened at close to 11 p.m.
Evacuees travelling to Calgary had expressed frustration after they had believed the reception centre to be closed due to signage on the doors of the arena.
“To the evacuees who did not immediately receive assistance, I apologize sincerely. I can only imagine what it must have been like to have to rapidly evacuate and then drive 12 to 15 hours to show up here and be met with close doors,” said Mayor Gondek.
“There’s absolutely a devastating experience and I’m committed to doing anything we can as a city to help people who are coming here.”
She said that the centre did close temporarily for about 20 minutes, due to a shift change.
“The doors were in fact not locked, and when staff figured out that this was happening and creating confusion, they in fact open the doors, went out to the parking lot to tell people they were welcome to come inside and receive assistance. By about 10 o’clock there needed to be a shift change, so it was at that point that the central didn’t need to close.”
“Calgary Emergency Management Agency Chief Sue Henry realized the situation was quite dire for people arriving and she reopened the enter within about 20 minutes. So again, my sincere apologies for anyone who arrived here and had to go through the heartbreaking note that said the centre was closed. We got it up and open as quickly as we could and we remain committed to helping people coming here that centre.”
As part of that committment said Mayor Gondek, the centre would be open for the next 48 hours until approximately 8 a.m. on July 26.
“We are taking in anyone who needs our help.”
She said that after what happened in the North West Territories in 2023, the City remained open providing whatever assistance they could to evacuees.
“The Alberta Emergency Management Agency will provide us with more information on how and where we are needed. And I can tell you that Chief Sue Henry and her team are absolutely committed to helping folks who are fleeing an incredibly dangerous and painful situation.”
Minister Ellis commended the City of Calgary for offering support for their fellow Albertans via the reception centre.
City partners stepping up to help
The Calgary Public Library announced on the morning of July 25, that they would be providing complimentary non-resident members to anyone sheltering in the city, following the wildfire evacuations.
That membership, said the library, would allow users to borrow items, place holds on items, and use printing and internet services in addition to accessing CPL programming.
“I really appreciate the fact that County Public Library has stepped up and offered to provide library cards to anyone who finds themselves in a situation of being evacuated from Jasper. That is such a great partnership. I would say that there are many other partners in Calgary that will be stepping up to do the same,” said Mayor Gondek.
“Calgarians and our partner organizations are incredibly thoughtful and compassionate people so we will probably see more of this.”
She said that thus far, the demographics of evacuees didn’t include many families with children, but that could possibly be due to the timing of when evacuees have made it to Calgary.
With files from Jenna Willox and Aryn Toombs
