Premier Danielle Smith told reporters that the federal government is primarily responsible for managing Jasper National Park, the popular tourist destination that’s become engulfed in flames over the past twenty-four hours, with 30-60% of the town completely burned down.
Asked if she “regrets” reducing the forest fire management budget, Smith told a reporter that she’s actually increased the province’s wildfire budget by 50% over the past two years, on top of increasing the contingency budget in 2024 from $1.5B to $2B after Canada experienced a 40-year high in forest fires.
25,000 people, including 5,000 residents, have been evacuated from the area as firefighters from all across Alberta flooding in to help fight the blaze.
Some social media users are suggesting the UCP is responsible for the forest fire, however naturally occurring they are, circulating an outdated headline of the UCP’s budget from when former leader Jason Kenney was at the helm.
Former Premier Kenney’s wildfire management budget was slightly reduced in 2020 and stayed around $100 million until Premier Smith took over the party in October 2022. Since then, she has increased the wildfire budget to record-high levels for the UCP and any other former governing party.
Over the past two years, Premier Smith has increased the budget from $101.9 million to $155.4 million.
Images of the iconic Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge burned down to the ground have many Canadians frustrated and distraught. One popular social media user from Alberta, MartyupNorth, said that “The devastation that’s happening right before our eyes was totally predictable.”
“Forest are living eco-systems that go through life and death cycles. The fires are natural, but didn’t have to be this dramatic. Park managers should have conducted some controlled burns and cleared dead forests,“ he said.
The feds have downplayed accusations that they provided a late response to the wildfire that was known to have been creeping towards Jasper for days.
“The intensity of the fire was just so severe that even these resources would not would not have had an impact in this case,” said the federal Emergency Preparedness Minister, Harjit Sajjan.
