It’s “early days” on the plan to rebuild Jasper following wildfires that destroyed a third of the picturesque town in the majestic Alberta Rockies, says the province’s minister of municipal affairs.
And the projected timeline is “evolving” as municipal, provincial and federal officials work on a plan to rebuild it, Rick McIver said Monday.
A joint task force is currently focused on finding temporary housing for roughly 360 households — finding residents a place to stay for one night up to two years — until rebuilding can begin.
“Realistically, it could be early next spring, or whenever the frost is out of the ground next spring, when there is a lot of digging going on,” McIver told CTV News Edmonton.
Construction at the townsite is complicated by the fact property owners do not own the land they live on.
Lawyer Jessica Reed says Jasper homeowners lease land from the Crown, with contracts up to 42 years that evolve with Parks Canada rules around how and if residents can rebuild.
“They are currently up to their eyeballs coming up with what these new parameters are going to look like,” Reed told CTV News Edmonton on Monday.
“They are not even releasing them yet except to say they are going to be lenient.”
The former mayor of Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo which includes Fort McMurray, who oversaw that city’s rebuild after wildfires in 2016, says due diligence and clear communication is key to a successful recovery for residents and visitors.
“It comes down to individuals and their insurance companies,” Blake said.
“People will make choices when they are rebuilding to use contractors who may or may not have experience in the community.”
McIver said “everybody’s motivated to get on with it.”
“(We’re looking to) compress the previous 100, 125 years of natural history into a really magnified, much faster, one-to-three years,” he said.