Jasper stands together in wake of 2024 wildfire: Brennan

Times Photo Submitted by Meghan Brennan. WILDFIRE: Jasper air strip burned.

By Trevor Busch
Taber Times
editor@tabertimes.com

It may have been bent, bowed, and nearly broken in the summer of 2024, but not unlike the mythological phoenix, the town of Jasper will rise again from the ashes.

That was the take-away of Meghan Brennan following a 14-day deployment as an information officer assisting the incident command post in Hinton which was coordinating emergency efforts for the Jasper Wildfire Complex.

When a wildfire ripped through the community in late July, roughly one-third of the town of 4,700 people was wiped out in the largest conflagration recorded in Jasper National Park in over a century. Brennan, who serves as communications and projects coordinator for the Town of Taber, was seconded to assist with emergency efforts not long after the fire devastated the townsite. 

“I was tasked as an information officer assistant,” said Brennan. “There were eight assistants and one chief information officer. And our job under unified command was to inform – I mean, the world – but specifically Jasper residents on the goings-on of emergency management, re-entry, recovery, all of it. So I was there specifically to assist the municipality of Jasper. We were unified with Parks and the municipality. So they needed somebody with municipal experience to kind of help bolster their communications efforts.”

Brennan is no stranger to emergency situations, and with her previous experience was happy to be deployed to assist in Jasper.

“They approach the town – technically, it went through the province – but I’m part of a regional all hazards incident management team in the south called the South Zone All Hazards Incident Management Team. I’ve been a member since 2019 and we’ve trained for this. Last year I was deployed to Brazeau County/Drayton Valley, for their fire. And then this year was the second deployment.”

Disseminating accurate and timely information is critical in emergency situations, and Brennan was heavily involved in drafting a re-entry guide for citizens and residents once she was on scene. 

“Specifically, I was charged with community management, social media and the re-entry communications. So if you saw it on Facebook… in Jasper, chances are that I had a hand in it. Of course, it was a team effort. But the re-entry guide was quite a big thing. When I first started there, we knew that re-entry was coming. We didn’t know the date, but we knew that with the devastation in Jasper, that residents were going to need a lot of information before they entered, just for their own safety and peace of mind. So that took about, I’d say, four to five good solid days of work to get that ready before we entered. So that was kind of how I first entered and then after that, it was a lot of community management, Facebook messages, Instagram messages, comments, emails, you name it, thousands of questions pouring in a day.”

While the devastation in Jasper is profound, that isn’t what Brennan most remembers when she reflects on her first visit to the community following the fire.

“I did go into Jasper once. I went in the Sunday right after the re-entry date. And nothing in the world prepares you to see it in person. Yeah, I saw pictures, videos. You hear the stories, but nothing in this world prepares you for that. I hope I never see it again. It was awful, the devastation, but all that being said – and it was awful, I don’t downplay that – but when I was in Jasper, I was lucky enough to be there when residents were allowed in. And what I took away from that is watching neighbours hugging, neighbours laughing, smiling on the patio of the Legion that was open. They were happy to be with each other, and though Jasper was devastated by the fire, the community spirit wasn’t, and that was an absolute honour to watch happen.”

“I had been to Jasper only once before in my life, and it was beautiful. It captures your imagination. The geography is beautiful, but geography is the least of the reasons why Jasper is beautiful. It’s the community spirit.”

Brennan said it was remarkable to be working alongside many residents who had lost their own homes and possessions, only to set aside this emotional fallout to assist their friends and neighbours with little thought for themselves.

“There were quite a number in the incident command post that were Jasperites that lost their homes or businesses, and to watch their strength and courage to do that was inspiring. Honestly, you never knew who you were going to talk to, whether they were a Jasperite, and whether they had lost their homes, but it didn’t matter. They were there to serve a common purpose. And while their losses are profound and shouldn’t be downplayed, their courage was… I don’t think I’ll ever see something like that again.”

Brennan says that focusing on the job only goes so far when you are surrounded by so many examples of perseverance amidst tragedy.

“I’ve trained for this for many, many years, and I’m used to crisis communications. I mean, let’s be real – this one was a tough deployment. The mental fortitude required, you get in there, you have a job to do, and you do it, but then you hear the pain of a community. You hear the pain of people. You hear their fears, their uncertainty – it was very hard to deal with, and it’s still going on today. I’m no longer there, and I’m still following Jasper’s posts. I’m still reaching out to the people that I worked with, because it’s not something that leaves you. I don’t think it’s something that will ever leave me.”

“Drayton Valley in Brazeau (County) was a difficult deployment last year, but they weren’t nearly as damaged as Jasper was. When it’s a worldwide tourist destination that captures everybody’s hearts and minds and it’s a crown jewel in Alberta and our country, to see the pain that comes out of that is very, very difficult.”

Emergency preparedness isn’t just for people that live “over there” or in disaster-prone regions. Brennan stressed that in today’s world disaster can happen to any community, anywhere, at any time.

“On a personal level, I would urge every citizen of this country to do this as a lesson from Jasper, is to look at your insurance policies, see what they cover, see what they don’t cover. Emergencies are getting worse. They’re getting more dangerous. What happened in Jasper is not rare. It’s heartbreaking and it’s awful, but it’s not rare. People do need to be prepared.”

Deployed for 14 days from Aug. 9-24, Brennan thanked municipalities across the province for providing their employees with expertise to assist with the emergency efforts.

“It’s thanks to our municipalities. The Town of Taber let me go for 14 days with no guarantee that it was going to be a shorter deployment or a longer deployment. That takes a lot of patience and grace on their part. So I can’t downplay the fact that this community lets me go and help in another community’s time of need.”

Many of its streets and homes are devastated, and it will be a long road to recovery, but Brennan is confident the people of Jasper will stand tall together to the end.

“The thing that will stay with me forever – and I hope that all people in Canada and the world recognize this – is Jasper was damaged, but Jasper wasn’t broken. The people were not broken. There’s this common thread that we kind of wove into some of our communications with the help of Mayor Ireland, that they will rise and they’ll rise together, rise from the ashes, and if nothing else, take from Jasper that knowledge they will be fine, because they are together.”