One year ago today, Jasper was hit with one of the costliest fire events in Canadian history.
On July 22, 2024, two Carlson Construction projects in Jasper were well underway. The Maligne Range was ready to open its doors. The Jasper Activity Centre was progressing well with a scheduled completion date of early September.
But, within a matter of hours, the entire town was under a mandatory evacuation due to multiple wildfires surrounding the town. The Carlson team packed up and left, not knowing what state our projects — and the townsite — would be in when we returned.
The fire destroyed one-third of the town’s structures and damaged countless others. In January, the damages were estimated at $1.23 billion, making it the second-costliest fire event in Canadian history.
This is part one of a four-part series, sharing some of the behind-the-scenes issues faced by the residents of Jasper, and profiling some of our incredible clients who – despite the damages caused by the wildfires – are now open for business.
Members of the Carlson team were some of the first people to be allowed back in Jasper following the fires, assessing damage and working to understand the greatest areas of need. A few needs emerged early-on, which we knew we could support, ultimately helping Jasper on its road to recovery:
Jasper Brewpub following the fire, photo from Parks Canada
Insurance is nuanced, and differs based on whether you are insuring a commercial or residential project.
“These people were without homes, and to make a bad situation worse, I quickly learned that many of the business owners were not adequately insured, following cost increases due to COVID and other factors, to rebuild their businesses,” said Bruce Foster, president of Carlson Construction.
Commercial projects typically have insurance that is covered to the value of the policy. Some projects were originally insured for less than $1.5M, but today may cost up to $5M to rebuild. The gap in insurance coverage left many Jasper business owners with a tough decision – reinvest, or sell the property.
Fortunately, on the residential side, most residential projects have replacement cost insurance, which means even if their home is insured for $750K and the cost today to rebuild is $1.5M, the insurance company pays the total amount, as of today, to rebuild.
Homes and businesses on fire during the 2024 Jasper wildfire
To complicate matters further, some homes were used for staff housing, and held in the name of the business or holding company that owned it. As these homes were owned by businesses rather than individuals, the cost to rebuild them is not covered by replacement cost insurance, leaving business owners with even more loss.
And so, Bruce found himself in a place where he would sit down with one resident, who would refer him to another, and then another, to help them understand the true cost of rebuilding their businesses, and identifying the gaps between the amount they were insured for, and the amount they would need to be able to rebuild.
Of course, many Jasper business owners also lost their homes in the fire, meaning many of our commercial clients in Jasper needed to rebuild their homes. While Carlson Construction doesn’t currently focus on residential construction, we had previous expertise and partnerships that enabled us to deliver a solution.
Cabin creek area of Jasper, photo from Parks Canada
We initially stood up Carlson Homes as a way to help our close contacts and clients in Jasper, but that number quickly climbed to a list of 50 residents that needed homes rebuilt.
“One of the best parts of being a company of our size is that it gives us the ability to pivot and move quickly. So, we stood up Carlson Homes – a special division of Carlson created specifically to help residents of Jasper,” shared Bruce.
We helped many Jasperites through the insurance process, but advised that we could only take on a limited number of home builds, to ensure we delivered on the quality standard that is so important to us.
Construction on these homes will begin once permits are granted.
Finally, came the issue of worker accommodation.
“Jasper has always been one of the most difficult places to work, from an accommodation perspective,” shared Bruce.
Essentially, with so much of the hotel accommodation in the town being geared towards tourists, and with so many restrictions around camp-style housing (due to Jasper being located within Jasper National Park), it has always been difficult to find cost-effective accommodations for out-of-town workers.
Interim housing for displaced residents, photo from Jasper Local, taken by Bob Covey
In the months following the fires, many displaced residents and construction workers were being housed in hotels, however, when tourism season hit, the cost of those hotel rooms would become out-of-reach within the context of a construction project.
In January, Bruce was invited to participate in a roundtable that included 25 federal government representatives, to discuss some of the pressing needs in Jasper, including temporary housing to accommodate:
As part of the conversation in Jasper, Bruce assisted in helping federal government representatives understand that, without a solution for construction workers in place, it will be even more difficult to get Jasper rebuilt, to bring its residents back home.
To date, temporary housing has been addressed for displaced residents and hospitality workers, however it is yet to be determined where construction workers will stay as the town’s rebuild progresses.
Bruce has remained closely connected with the people of Jasper, as the town’s rebuild continues.
“We are honoured to help Jasperites rebuild their lives and livelihoods, and to play a small part in their remarkable stories of resilience,” said Bruce.
This article is part one of a four-part series, which will profile some of the Jasper-based Carlson projects that are now open for business.
Whether your project is large or small, complex or straightforward, we bring decades of experience, care, and craftsmanship to every build.
