Wildfires | Jasper City estimates nearly $300 million in damages

(Jasper) The City of Jasper estimates that last month’s wildfires destroyed $283 million worth of property, according to preliminary figures.

The city also reports that while 358 structures were destroyed, mostly businesses and homes, the total number of homes lost is about 800.

Those figures were presented to councilors by CEO Bill Given during a virtual meeting on Tuesday.

Mr. Given said those numbers will become even more daunting as reconstruction progresses, as the lost structures equate to a loss of $2.2 million in annual property tax revenue.

“This will represent a reduction in our financial capacity at a time when we need it most,” said Given, who added that the city will seek funding from the province and other jurisdictions to try to cover the deficit.

During the meeting, council approved a number of motions regarding next steps to try to return to normal as Jasper’s 5,000 residents are allowed to return home starting Friday.

The motions approved included the suspension and deferral of property tax payments and collections for damaged and destroyed properties, as well as municipal utility charges for those same properties.

The council also passed a motion asking the administration to consider providing partial refunds on property taxes to residents whose homes or businesses were destroyed but who had paid their annual taxes in full before the fire.

“The overall goal is to ease the burden on residents,” Given said. “We’ll have a number of discussions about what the future looks like, but these are steps that the administration has identified as being able to take place immediately.”

Regarding the loss of 800 homes, Mayor Richard Ireland urged residents to fill out a survey on the city’s website to gauge exactly how many people might use temporary housing upon their return.

“It’s critical that we continue to get the message out to residents that we need to hear from them,” Ireland said. “Whether you need housing or whether you have housing that may be available to other residents, that’s critical information that we want to know.”

Given said people who have been granted temporary housing through evacuation centres in Edmonton, Calgary and Grande Prairie, Alta., will continue to have access until “at least” Aug. 24.

A motion was also approved Tuesday for the city to hire a “director of recovery” who will work for the community throughout the rebuilding process. Given told council the position would have a two-year term that could be extended, if necessary.

“I think the need for personnel will be immense in the coming years, and probably [être] complicated by the fact that some employees will have lost their homes [et] “may not come back,” Councilor Wendy Hall said during the debate.

“It’s going to be a really steep learning curve for the municipality and the residents, and I think we need all the extra support we can get,” she continued.

In a presentation at the start of Tuesday’s meeting, Parks Canada Incident Commander Jonathan Large told council that residents returning to Jasper soon should still expect to see smoke from nearby wildfires.

“There’s still a lot of work to do,” Large said of the fire, which is still considered out of control.

Mr Ireland responded that seeing “fire in the landscape” will be “part of the new normal” for Jasper residents once they return home.