Peter Shokeir
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Jasper Fitzhugh
VALEMOUNT – A B.C. community has received a $302,585.60 cheque from the Alberta government to cover the expenses of hosting Jasper wildfire evacuees last year.
The disbursement covers invoices submitted by nine Valemount businesses and the Village’s expenses for providing services to evacuees.
“We are deeply grateful to all those who demonstrated extraordinary generosity, bravery and community spirit during the July 2024 Jasper Wildfire Complex,” said Valemount Mayor Owen Torgerson in a release. “Valemount businesses and service organizations selflessly hosted evacuees that resulted in growing our community 20-fold overnight.”
When a wildfire threatened Jasper in July 2024, up to 20,000 people were evacuated from the community and directed to go west into British Columbia, and Valemount stepped up to host evacuees.
The Village activated its emergency operations centre, which requires staffing in the middle of the night, as well as opening the community hall as an emergency support centre.
The Anglican-United Church had their doors open for both shelter and for clothing, which they gave away for free. The New Life Centre fed folks for seven to 10 days, and the Valemount Royal Canadian Legion opened their doors at 11 p.m. and cooked pancakes for 36 hours straight.
The Valemount Pines Golf Course and RV Park housed about 600 evacuees, and Best Western Plus Valemount Inn & Suites provided prepared meals and sleeping space.
“The really cool thing is nobody asked for a penny at the time,” Torgenson said in an interview.
Through a collaborative process involving the Village of Valemount, the Municipality of Jasper and ultimately the Province of Alberta, invoices were submitted for disaster financial assistance and recovery support.
Expenses covered included heightened power bill, free showers, additional barrels of chlorine for a potable water system and other items.
Chad, Alana and Vicky Gulevich, whose company Vantage Hotels owns Best Western Valemount, expressed their gratitude for the reimbursement in a statement.
“These were not easy circumstances, but they reminded us why we do what we do: to be there for people when it matters most,” the Gulevichs added.
“We are truly grateful that the Province of Alberta, the Village of Valemount, and the Municipality of Jasper came together to recognize these efforts and provide the financial support that ensures our business can remain strong during a time when even our own Jasper property, the Mount Robson Inn, was itself lost to the fire.”
Although Torgerson was grateful that his village received this support, he noted how they had requested $1.5 million to help the community recover after the wildfire closed highways and stopped the flow of visitors.
The Village had spent months lobbying the B.C. and federal governments, to no avail. Torgerson noted how this situation identified a gap during the recovery process of the emergency management wheel.
“Government needs to do better,” he said. “We did it because we’re B.C.’ers. We did it because we’re Canadians. We’d probably do it again, but we need to know that government has our back.”
Torgerson added how the money from Alberta not only stabilized his community but also strengthens the relationship with their neigbhouring province and their kin community of Jasper.
“And it just affirms to businesses that open their doors to friends, family and complete strangers, that yeah, maybe not tomorrow or next week, but at some point someone’s going to have my back,” he said.
