Neighbouring town of fire-struck Jasper ready to help long-term, for better or worse

Maharshi Patel, 22, right, and his brother Om Patel, 21, on the front lawn of their fully booked family run motel in Hinton, Alta., on Thursday, August 15, 2024. (Amber Bracken)

It's been hard to find a hotel room in Hinton, Alta., lately.

Firefighters from across Canada and around the world have been calling the town of 10,000 home since late July after joining the fight against massive wildfires some 75 kilometres down the highway in Jasper National Park.

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Also stationed in Hinton for the past few weeks have been Parks Canada, Red Cross and Alberta Emergency Management Agency personnel, as well as some of the 5,000 Jasper, Alta. residents ordered out on July 22.

Less than 48 hours after the evacuation order was issued, the fires reached the townsite and destroyed 358 buildings, or a third of the community's structures. That included some 800 housing units.

An estimated $283 million in property value was wiped out.

Hinton officials and community leaders say the town will continue to do all it can to support its municipal neighbour, despite dealing with their own issues as a result of the fires.

"We all have colleagues and friends and family that live and work out of Jasper," said Tyler Waugh, executive director of the Hinton Chamber of Commerce.

"A lot of people didn't even know how to help, but they just got into action and tried to do something just to show support."

Local restaurants have been preparing free meals for firefighters and evacuees, while community groups have been amassing donations to make sure those who lost everything have clothes and other basics.

"We've had more help and assistance for displaced people than we've actually had displaced people," said Hinton's Mayor Nicholas Nissen.

"Everyone's telling me that Hinton's been great to work with, that the people of Hinton have been very welcoming, and that's the community that I moved into and that's the community I was attracted to originally."

Both Nissen and Waugh said many businesses have been struggling from lost visitors due to the park closure.

"Businesses have tried to do what they can … but a lot of them have been doing this to their own detriment," said Waugh, who also publishes and edits a weekly community newspaper called the Hinton Voice.

"What we've gone through pales in comparison. But at the same time, there's a lot of businesses in town that are hurting right now."

The chamber is surveying businesses to get a clearer understanding of the fire's direct impacts, but he said it's possible some businesses have needed to lay off staff.

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Not every business is in such dire straits.

The owner of the Hinton Home Hardware Building Centre said he's hired extra staff in preparation for the rebuild as he's expecting many Jasper residents will stop in for anything from cleaning supplies to new appliances now that they have been allowed to return home and start rebuilding.

"All of a sudden the needs that we generally supply the community changed," said Marcel Preville, who has been running the hardware store since the fall of 2020.

Shortly after the fire hit town, Preville said he reached out to friends in Fort McMurray who went through its 2016 wildfire evacuation to get a better idea of what supplies he should keep in stock over the coming weeks and months.

He determined that fridges and freezers would be a priority.

"So within three days, we had 150 fridges and freezers sitting in our store," he said.

"We need to go in hard and fast and we need to co-ordinate everything and we need to get it in there because people want to get back to normal and they want to live in their homes and they need food — they're tired of eating out."

Besides appliances, Preville said he's stocked up on air filters for furnaces and air conditioners as well as cleaning supplies that won't chemically react to the fire retardant used in Jasper. He also ordered extra duct tape.

"I'm more prepared to be able to help the community next to our community than our community," he said.

Considering the likelihood that not every Jasper resident will return and rebuild, like what was seen after the Fort McMurray fire, Nissen said he thinks Hinton is in a "unique" position to absorb a sudden population increase, whether it's temporary or permanent.

"I think that we will absorb the folks that we need to fairly well," said Nissen. "We even have plenty of land, we can get work camps and temporary housing set up as needed."

"Hinton is going to be here, and we're going to continue to do everything we can to support our neighbours and help them get their paradise built back to paradise standards."

Welcoming Jasper residents back to the national park on Friday morning was Hinton's fire chief Mac de Beaudrap.

Standing next to a Hinton fire truck on the side of Highway 16 that morning, through rain, clouds and sunshine, he waved to each and every group headed home.

Many honked, smiled, and waved right back.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2024