Jasper wildfire now 9th-costliest natural disaster for insurance payouts in Canada's history: IBC

The wildfire that tore through Jasper National Park in late July is currently the ninth-costliest natural disaster in Canada’s history.

A representative with the Insurance Bureau of Canada presented new information at a Jasper council meeting on Tuesday morning, which revealed the insured damages for the Jasper wildfire are estimated at $880 million.

Rob Dupree, the national director with IBC, said this number includes just the insurance damages to homes, businesses and vehicles. It does not include the wildfire response costs or Parks Canada costs.

“The number of $880 million, this is for the damages to not only the destroyed homes, but the standing homes, the contents, additional living expenses, mass evacuation expenses, business interruption and also the personal and commercial vehicles that were damaged or destroyed,” Dupree explained.

Dupree outlined the Top 10 natural disasters in Canada for insurance payouts, with the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire topping the list at $4.5 billion. Two other Alberta-related events on the list include the 2013 southern Alberta floods at $2 billion and the 2020 Alberta hailstorm at $1.3 billion.

“As of today, Jasper is number nine,” Dupree said.

He also noted that the Jasper wildfire is the costliest event in Canada’s national park history for insured damages.

Dupree went on to say that by the end of the year, the Jasper wildfire may fall off this list due to recent events such as the Montreal floods, Ontario floods and Calgary hail storm.

He said there have been about 2,500 insurance claims made related to the Jasper wildfire, whereas about 25,000 claims have been filed related to the Ontario floods, 35,000 claims related to the Calgary hail storm and 70,000 claims related to the Montreal floods.

“At the end of the year, Jasper – while it’s sitting at number nine now – may move to 10 or 11 or 12 down the list. But as of today, it’s number nine and that is a big deal,” Dupree said.

Insurance adjustors remain in Jasper to help residents through the process.

Dupree also spoke about debris removal, as the community looks to move into the rebuild phase.

Commercial properties will likely be cleared of debris first, followed by residential properties. Dupree said the “ambitious” goal is to remove all debris from the area by the end of November.

“We do have an ambitious timeline to have all the debris cleared by the end of November — November 30 … and that’s a bit ambitious,” Dupree told councillors.

“We’re hoping that we’re going to have all of the debris cleared by the end of this calendar year, but we understand everyone’s desire for an expedited and effective process so we will get going as soon as we have the authorizations and the clearance and we’re going to start seeing that hauling done, particularly on the commercial side earlier on and on the residential side once Rubicon Canada has completed their sifting program.”

Jasper National Park was evacuated due to wildfires on July 22. The wildfire moved into the townsite two days later.

Officials estimate about 30 per cent of the townsite’s buildings were destroyed or damaged by fire.

Residents were allowed to return to the townsite on Friday, Aug. 16. The town remains closed to tourists at this time.

For the latest information on which areas in Alberta are under an evacuation alert or order due to a wildfire, visit the Alberta Emergency Alert website. 

For the latest information on the wildfire status and danger across the province, visit the Alberta Wildfire website. 

The latest information on fire advisories, restrictions and bans across the province can be found on the Alberta fire bans website. 

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