Pine beetles were not a major factor in the Jasper wildfire, experts say

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OTTAWA – Large tracts of dead trees ravaged by the mountain pine beetle surrounding the town in Jasper National Park may have been a contributing factor to the devastating fire that destroyed hundreds of homes, forestry scientists say, but it was ultimately not as crucial as strong winds, high temperatures and generally dry conditions.

“Under these conditions, you’re going to see high-intensity crown fires, with or without mountain pine beetle kill,” said Jen Beverly, an associate professor at the University of Alberta.

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Beverly said trees attacked by the mountain pine weevil become more flammable about a year later, but less flammable after the needles fall and the tree dies. She said even a healthy forest with no dead trees would likely have been consumed by this week’s fire.

“When you have extreme wind conditions that cause a fire to burn in an area with continuous fuels, there is very little you can do to stop it,” he said.

The national park’s forests have been devastated by mountain pine beetles for the past 20 years. The insects leave dead, dry and reddened pine trees across the landscape. At the peak of the infestation, the beetles were estimated to have reached 98 percent of the park, but in 2019 a cold snap wiped out nearly all of the beetles.

This week’s fire, which authorities say has burned about a third of the structures in the town of Jasper, began Monday night and spread more than 10 kilometres before entering the community.

Beverly said Jasper’s location, at the centre of three mountain valleys, was a well-known risk factor to city officials and Parks Canada, and it appears the worst-case scenarios have finally come to fruition.

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“The unthinkable, that two fires would start in two of those valleys at the same time, happened. But it is not something that they had not thought about and had not been planning for.”

But Parks Canada has been criticized in the past for failing to clear dead trees or conduct more prescribed burns to limit the fuel available for a wildfire.

WJ Byrne, a former deputy minister of Alberta Community Development and Alberta Advanced Education, wrote in the Edmonton Journal this week that provincial officials previously argued with the federal government, which oversees national parks including Jasper and Banff, that it was not doing enough to thin out the parks’ old-growth, flammable forests.

“I think a major part of the immediate problem in Jasper, which could have been mitigated considerably in all Rocky Mountain national parks, is Parks Canada’s ‘green’ policy of protecting the forest in all Rocky Mountain national parks,” he said.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said preliminary figures indicated 358 structures in the community of Jasper had been destroyed in the fire, which is still considered out of control.

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Patrick James, an associate professor at the University of Toronto’s graduate school of forestry, agreed that trees damaged by pine beetles can contribute to fires, but in such extreme conditions that wouldn’t be a major factor, he said.

“From what I understand, the weather that caused the Jasper fires was incredibly intense, with incredibly strong winds, very dry conditions and very low humidity. And what those extreme weather conditions do is that the role of fuels is actually not that important,” James said.

“I don’t think the die-off of pine beetles played a major role in this fire. I think the extreme heat and extreme wind were what really made the fire so destructive,” he said.

Alberta has been experiencing a prolonged period of drought and has seen elevated summer temperatures in recent weeks.

James said logging and prescribed burning can reduce the amount of fuel available and the risk, but residents living in nearby mountainous areas often don’t want them because they worry the burns will get out of control, which is more likely in a warmer, drier climate.

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“These fires cannot be carried out if there is a risk that they will get out of control,” he said.

At a news conference Friday afternoon, Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland said the community and park had prepared for the fire and built firebreaks, but added that people in his community want to live with much of the natural environment intact.

“It’s our home and our recreation area and we want to be in the mountains. We want to be in nature and that means our community is exposed to the threat of wildfires,” he said.

“We did everything we could to protect the city, and yet as human beings we are humbled by the presence of nature. This fire was huge and spread quickly.”

Federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan said the community had an extensive FireSmart program in place, which aims to clear trees and brush surrounding buildings. But he said the fire was throwing embers more than a kilometer away at the highest point of the blaze.

“What kind of preparation do you need for something like that, when it’s a kilometer long and there are so many embers flying around?” Sajjan said.

Alberta Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Todd Loewen said the province intends to look into the issue further and that things will need to be done differently to prevent this from happening again.

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“Albertans love the way the forest looks in their community right now and don’t want it to change, but that’s not realistic. That forest will change, whether it’s because we change it or because there’s a devastating wildfire,” he said.

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