‘Co-ordinated’ federal agencies join response to Alberta wildfires

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Federal public servants across several government organizations are working to respond to wildfires in Alberta, including park wardens, firefighters and administrative staff from the Department of National Defence.

According to the Government of Alberta’s online wildfire status dashboard, there were 166 active wildfires in that province as of Friday, with 49 deemed “out of control.”

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Premier Danielle Smith said that fire activity in Jasper had been “significantly subdued,” but it was still out of control and the community remained unsafe for people to return. She said structural damage was concentrated on the west side of town and noted that, while a detailed assessment of the damage wasn’t yet completed, preliminary observations showed that 33 per cent of Jasper had total or partial structural loss.

Jasper was attacked by fires from the north and south, with mandatory evacuation orders issued Monday, forcing its 5,000 residents and 20,000 national park visitors to flee.

At the news conference, federal Minister of Emergency Preparedness Harjit Sajjan said some military personnel were already on the ground in Jasper, with another 100 personnel on their way to Edmonton and others to be put on standby.

He added the Canadian Coast Guard had offered two helicopters and 24 instant-command staff.

In terms of services, Sajjan said Employment Insurance benefits and lost documents “will be taken care of.”

Smith and Sajjan said their respective governments would be matching donations made to the Red Cross.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who convened an Incident Response Group meeting with senior ministers and officials about the wildfires on Thursday, said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that “every federal agency is co-ordinated, sending resources to Jasper, deploying evacuations support to the area and reinforcing firefighting efforts on the ground.”

Alex Silas, national executive vice-president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, said members across all departments were “ready and willing to offer support,” though employees at Parks Canada are “likely the most involved and the most impacted at this point.”

PSAC represents around 200 Parks Canada employees working in the national fire management system, plus 100 park wardens across the country.

A post on Parks Canada’s Jasper National Park page on Thursday said Canada Task Force 2, a government disaster-response team, was assisting the municipality of Jasper and Parks Canada.

A news release by the Office of the Prime Minister on Thursday night said there would be an “immediate deployment of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) resources” to provide evacuation support, wildfire support and to co-ordinate firefighting and airlift assistance, in response to Alberta’s request for federal aid.

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An update by the CAF on Friday said assistance included aid with firefighting tasks, providing planning assistance focused on logistical support and providing air assets for evacuation and moving personnel and equipment.

The update did not confirm how many CAF members had been deployed, but said an Immediate Response Unit based in Shilo, Man., was sent to Alberta on Thursday, joining personnel from the Joint Task Force West.

The update added that the Royal Canadian Air Force had personnel and “a variety of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft” that could support efforts if required. It said the RCAF would have a CH146 Griffon and a C130H Hercules in Edmonton.

The Department of National Defence and the CAF were also asked to support Parks Canada with performing wellness checks, observing, reporting and/or setting up information points for road closures, supporting planning activities and deploying “CAF elements to act as Type III firefighters with associated integral support.”

Liana Brault, a spokesperson for Employment and Social Development Canada, said that department’s emergency management structure was active, too, with Service Canada employees to be on the ground in Edmonton and Calgary on Friday.

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“We have already reached out to more than 100 employers from Jasper, including those as part of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, with information on Service Canada resources and support to evacuees impacted by the wildfires,” Brault said, adding that ESDC and Service Canada continued to deliver services through its outreach support centre and in-person at evacuation centres.

June Winger, national president of the Union of National Defence Employees, which represents 500 civilian Department of National Defence firefighters at military bases, said members in the area would help with wildfire response in a volunteer capacity, taking leave from their government positions.

She said staff from CFB Wainwright were to be on the ground to support, adding it was likely that members from Suffield, Alta., would also volunteer.

“For whatever reason, National Defence is not is not willing to let their civilian firefighters go as National Defence employees,” Winger said, adding mutual-aid agreements were in place in order for staff to be backfilled in case of an emergency. “I expect that it’s because they only have the minimum amount of firefighters to keep the bases safe.”

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She said about a dozen staff, including four military members and eight public servants, working at the National Defence fire marshal’s office in Ottawa were also working to manage the logistics for Canadian Armed Forces members to go out and assist.

“Ministers also discussed the ongoing co-ordination of firefighting, including with international partners,” the statement said, noting hundreds of firefighters from Mexico, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia were already in Canada or on the way. Help is also being provided by other provinces, including Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Quebec is sending two water bombers and some personnel to Alberta.

With Postmedia files.

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