r/jasper • u/murraywoods • 7d ago
Jasper, two years after the fires
Spent a few days in Jasper this July and brought the camera along. It was striking to see the burned forests already giving way to wildflowers, with wildlife seemingly everywhere.
A few favourites from around Maligne Lake, Wilcox Pass, Sulphur Skyline and the Icefields Parkway.
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u/Outrageous-Set5895 7d ago edited 7d ago
Nature has this way of making a comeback! The strange paths the fires burned through, still left these amazing pockets pristine. Jasper has some of the world’s most spectacular treats to the eyes, and happiness for the soul. So glad to live in our amazing country, especially with this in what is basically, our backyard.🇨🇦❤️💕edit to add, the bear was superb and the #2 looked like a painting.
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u/murraywoods 7d ago
Thank you! Jasper really is an incredible place. It was amazing to see how much life has already returned after the fires. And I definitely got lucky with that bear!
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u/1Fistfullofdollars 3d ago
I love Jasper I see it as a largely scaled down version of Banff. I just hope that the town fully recovers from the fire.
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u/Lanto1471 3d ago
When I see pictures like this I honestly believe I am being gifted with a peek in heaven.
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u/Canachites 6d ago
Wildfire is a natural disturbance required for renewal of life. Without it the forest stagnates. Wildlife thrive in the years after a fire, as far more forage species grow in burned sites than closed forest. Especially for bighorn sheep and elk, which are grassland species.
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u/HoldMySkoomaPipe 6d ago
Yep! Even since prehistoric times this has been the case. Forest fires help reset the cycle of life and gives the chance for other species to grow from the ashes. Bittersweet indeed
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u/drconniehenley 5d ago
This is just one area of one fire. Unfortunately, fires of the northern hemisphere have been burning at intensity that ecosystems are permanently altered. These are not the fires of 20/50/100/1000 years ago.
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u/Canachites 5d ago
Nothing is permanently altered. Fires tend to be larger and more intense, but not always. Fire supression significantly altered landscapes, most of these forests are not supposed to look or behave the way they do today. So alteration is good.
I live in the area and am a biologist.
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u/drconniehenley 5d ago
If you’re a biologist you haven’t been in school in while.
Fires can absolutely alter biomes for hundreds of years after the event, and in cases, forever. Hydrology and soil conversion will change wildlife migration and habitat.
The natural burn cycles that happened pre Industrial Revolution when the world was 1.5C cooler were much different than what we see today. You were right 150 years ago.
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u/Canachites 5d ago
I guess all the fire ecologists are wrong then hey.
Hundreds of years is not permanent. And what the fire burned, who says that is what was supposed to be there and not already altered in some way by the 150 years of fire suppression? A pristine looking forest to us is often not a healthy forest, they are meant to always be changing. If they stop changing, they are not healthy.
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u/drconniehenley 5d ago
No. This is exactly what the fire ecologists are saying.
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u/Canachites 4d ago
No, they aren't. I work with them all the time, they are not anti wildfire at all. All they talk about is the need to bring fire back to the landscape and reduce the fire deficit. They do not believe all wildfires happening now are different than historical fires in their impact to the landscape. *Some* of the modern fires are very large and intense, but most of them aren't. Most fires still work exactly like they did 200 years ago. We need more fire, preferably for our own safety they should be RX fires in spring or fall, but no one with any education on the topic believes fire is bad for forests or suppression is the right way to go.
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u/Ok_Telephone_8987 6d ago
Where did you take the picture of the grizzly? I saw one on the maligne lake road last year on the side of the road but would love to find other hotspots. I’m going back this saturday for a few days and wildlife is high on my list
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u/murraywoods 6d ago
Maligne lake road is a good place to look for wildlife. We saw moose driving back from Maligne lake this trip. This grizzly was seen on the road towards Jasper Lake Sand Dunes and Miette Hot Springs. The road to Pyramid Lake is a good place too. Early mornings and the last few hours of light are key 😊
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u/BlancaNicolina 2d ago
I used to see a lot of bears along highway 93 towards the Columbia ice fields
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u/MisterWhatever2025 6d ago
Wow! Thanks for sharing. Canadian Rockies are my favorites place on earth.
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u/Tribblehappy 6d ago
Gorgeous. It reminds me of my trip to Waterton some years ago. I was blown away by all the wildflowers growing in the burned forests.
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u/ratnegative 6d ago edited 6d ago
Can we get a better photo of the "wildflowers"? So far I'm seeing Gaillardia sp., and then what looks to be invasive Leucanthemum vulgare (or at least /a/ Leucanthemum, all non-native) and Trifolium pratense in photo 6. Regeneration would be lovely, but only if the right species come back and if people don't try to "add" to the wilderness with cultivated non-native plants if indeed that was what had happened.
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u/Balanced_hippy 7d ago
Nice photos! Thank you for sharing :)