Overview

• Residents and officials gathered at Commemoration Park on July 22 to honor community resilience and remember firefighter Morgan Kitchen at the one-year wildfire anniversary.
• Municipal authorities have cleared 114 of 185 properties for reconstruction while soil-testing requirements delay approvals on 71 sites.
• Jasper’s tourism sector has rebounded since the May long weekend with hotels and short-term rentals operating near full capacity despite a 20% loss in accommodations.
• The town-commissioned third-party review found that overlapping authority between Parks Canada and Alberta disrupted incident command, prompting Premier Danielle Smith to demand an apology and retraction.
• Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi defended the report and cautioned that without improved collaboration future wildfire responses could become more chaotic and dangerous.