From one mountain community to another, Whistler is thinking about Jasper today.
Overnight on July 24, a wildfire decimated the Alberta mountain town, with up to half of all structures destroyed, according to estimates from officials.
Whistlerites are watching the scenes in shock—while thinking about the risk to their own little mountain paradise.
“My initial response is similar to most of us I expect… deep sadness," said Mayor Jack Crompton in a statement to Pique. "It does make me grateful for the comprehensive emergency planning we have done and motivates a desire to do even better.”
Staff at municipal hall are watching what's unfolding, and are "heartbroken" for Jasper, a communications official added.
"It is difficult to watch the footage and hear the stories as Canadians, as citizens of our own resort community, and as local government employees who are responsible for emergency planning in a mountain town. We are balancing shock, empathy and grief with deep professional concern for how we might respond to the same scenario," the official said.
Whistler's emergency management team, in particular, is tracking everything that's happening in Jasper.
"There are critical learnings for us as we follow their public alerts, the municipality of Jasper’s emergency notifications and the many news articles being shared," the official said. "These climate emergencies present opportunities to strengthen our own response.
"Tragedies like this capture everyone’s attention, and we want to ensure our community has the information that they need at their fingertips while it’s top of mind. We have just shared an updated blog post on whistler.ca, focused on Emergency Preparedness. We hope seeing a similar community going through this tragedy is a reminder to Whistlerites that disaster can strike anywhere, and that being prepared can save homes and lives."
Key tips for preparedness include: sign up for Whistler Alert; have a go-bag ready; keep your car full of gas; and bone up on local evacuation strategies.
Read more at whistler.ca/emergency.
