Burned debris begins to be cleared in Jasper following July’s devastating wildfire

For more than three months, piles of burned wreckage lay largely untouched behind blue fences in Jasper, sealing off the remains of the more than 350 buildings destroyed in July’s wildfires.

Now the sounds of heavy construction equipment fill the air, and crews wearing hazmat suits and fans can be seen searching through the rubble behind some fences; all signs that wildfire debris removal is increasing.

Parks Canada owns all the land in Jasper because it is in Jasper National Park. Residents rent plots of land from the federal government and can build on them, but only own the buildings – not the land itself.

That makes residents responsible for cleaning up debris, and they must also follow recently developed disposal rules.

LOOK | Here’s a look at how burned debris from wildfires is being cleaned up in Jasper:

Before any physical work begins, leaseholders must apply for a development permit from Parks Canada, which authorizes demolition and debris removal.

Next, the rubble from each of the 358 destroyed structures must be tested for toxins, including asbestos – fibrous minerals commonly used in construction before 1990. It is now known that inhaling asbestos fibers poses health risks such as lung scarring and cancer.

For safety reasons, the moving teams wear personal protective equipment at all locations. Workers must also regularly drain the debris with hoses, which prevents asbestos fibers from floating in the air.

Representatives from Alberta’s Department of Occupational Health and Safety and Parks Canada are in Jasper to ensure safety and licensing regulations are followed.

A debris management working group put together by the Jasper Recovery Coordination Center (JRCC) told CBC in an interview late last month that safety is a top priority. The JRCC is a partnership between the City of Jasper and Parks Canada, formed in August to help coordinate recovery efforts.

“Care and attention has gone into every step of this process,” JRCC project manager Logan Ireland said in an Oct. 31 interview.

He said Parks Canada has prepared a “supplemental mitigation document” to support the guidelines contractors must follow when moving debris.

“All other provincial, municipal and federal guidelines will also apply,” Ireland said.

The debris is loaded into trucks and driven outside Jasper National Park. Some of the material will be recycled, but the bulk will be dumped 45 miles east of Jasper at the West Yellowhead Regional Landfill, just outside the town of Hinton, Alta., according to a news release from the landfill.

Some locations in Jasper need to be filled to prevent collapse and possible structural damage to adjacent properties. That work is also part of the debris management process.

The entire removal project is expected to last until spring 2025.

A ‘turnkey’ solution

To find efficiencies, construction management company EllisDon has been selected by a group of insurers to lead a bulk waste removal program.

“We offer a turnkey solution for Jasper,” says EllisDon construction manager Dallas Lindskoog.

“Every aspect of the debris removal process… can be handled by EllisDon from start to finish.”

EllisDon hires contractors to do the work, but leaseholders do not have to sign up to participate in the waste removal program.

EllisDon estimates the total cost for all these steps at $48 to $56 per square foot for traditional homes, and between $27 and $32 per square foot for mobile homes.

The Jasper wildfire is the second-costliest wildfire in Canadian history in terms of insured losses, according to Rob de Pruis, national director of consumer and industry relations for the Insurance Bureau of Canada.

The agency is a trade association that represents sixty-six Canadian home, auto and commercial insurance companies and helps coordinate efforts among insurers.

“No two properties are exactly the same. Each property has different costs or limits for reconstruction,” Pruss said.

“Many insurance policies have finite limits on debris removal and rebuilding, so they always try to work toward the most cost-effective and efficient solution.”

Mixed emotions about clearing rubble

JRCC’s Logan Ireland grew up in Jasper and has lived there most of his life. He says locals have mixed feelings about debris removal, but there is optimism in the air.

“I recognize that it can be a difficult process, and that people are dealing with a complex web of emotions. And I think that needs to take time,” he said.

“And in the same spirit, we are all working towards this collectively, and the sooner we can get all the tenant consents signed and people committed to removing debris, the sooner we will be on the road to a full recovery.