Part 2 - Two years after the 2017 Kenow Wildfire at Waterton Lakes National Park
A three day, 47km solo backcountry trip in Waterton Lakes National Park to examine the area’s recovery from the 2017 Kenow Wildfire.
Part 1 of this blog can be found by clicking here.
A quick video along Red Rock Parkway.
After seeing hydrophobic soil, ravaged trees, and lots of new growth I was not sure what to expect next. What I found was fascinating…….exposed tree root networks. Clumps of unveiled roots were along the Snowshoe trail. The trees looked as if they were grasping for dear life on the edges of the eroded hillsides.
The exposed roots at Waterton gave me a whole new appreciation for how far and how deep the systems run.
The Way Back
After spending two nights in the area I headed back to the trail-head. There was a spot along the trail where a small stream of water was being fed by a creek. The small stream was crossing my path (the water that was running across the trail was about 3 feet wide) pooling in an area about 100 square feet.
Unfortunately, the GoPro I was using was new to me and I accidentally deleted the video I took of what I thought might be a new water course. It appeared new because the runoff was on top of the hydrophobic soil layer, there was no bed rock, and there was no previous sign of water flow across that part of the trail. I am not sure how long the small creek will continue to feed the tiny stream but it was interesting to see. Hopefully my diagram does it some justice.
As I made my way out of the bush, I chatted with some Parks Canada staff. They were installing water temperature gauges East of the Crandell Mountain Campground bridge for Fisheries and Oceans. Bullhead Trout don’t do so well in water that is above 14 degrees Celsius. They said water temperatures at lower elevations have been reading 14; so they were testing the temperatures at higher elevations. We did not get into the exact causes for the warming so I am not sure if rain water runoff from the hydrophobic soil is partly to blame; but I would hazard a guess that it may not be helping.
Bull Trout
We also spoke a bit about the evacuation of back country campers before the Kenow Wildfire entered the Wateron Park. Luckily there was a lot of lead time for park staff to notify campers and hikers. Being out there alone for three days granted me the time to think how I might be better prepared for a wildfire in the backcountry.
With 8 KM left in my trip I decided to take a trail that was grown over due to lack of use. It brought me back to the days I used to bush whack with Edmonton Regional Search and Rescue. The over growth (5 feet tall) was a sign that people have not been hiking around Crandell due to past closures.
Community Recovery
After my trip, I reached out to Shameer Suleman, Head of Marketing for the Wateron Chamber of Commerce and owner of the Bayshore Inn Resort and Spa. I wanted to get a better understanding of how the community was doing economically.
When I asked Shameer about 2018, he simply stated ‘2018 was a difficult year’. He went on to say at the time, the park did not have much to offer in terms of hiking and camping due to much of the trails and camping areas being closed. And only one business was impacted to the point where it closed but Shameer did not dwell on the past. He excitedly went on to explain how Wateron is growing forward.
The start of 2019 was difficult for the popular tourist hot spot, again mostly due to park closures, but bad weather also plagued the area in May and June. However, things are turning the corner Shameer said, especially since Red Rock Parkway opened to bicycle and pedestrian traffic. (As of August 12, 2019 Parks Canada reports Akamina Parkway is open to hikers and cyclists but will close for construction in September 2019).
As Shameer was explaining how the community has banded together, he said something that really resonated with me, ‘businesses in Wateron have adapted’. In Disaster Management the definition of resilience includes the ability of a community exposed to hazards to adapt and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner.
The Wildfire, combined with a year of economic challenges, provided the community with the right ingredients to see that they needed to adapt. So they focused more energy on making Wateron a destination that is more than just beautiful landscapes, hiking, and camping. Some examples include:
Reinvigorating their festivals to be bigger and better, and
developing a reputation as a culinary hot spot.
The My Wateron website lists Upper Wateron Lake as a popular spot for advanced windsurfers which was a surprise.
There are no franchises in Wateron, the businesses are all family owned and operated. This gives them the freedom to reinvent themselves so they can adapt.
Disasters create setbacks for communities, mostly emotionally and economically. They also reveal vulnerabilities that existed pre-event; vulnerabilities that may have been unnoticed. It’s hard for a community to come together and recognize their vulnerabilities because there has to be an admission that the past could have been better, that their past actions may have been holding them back from something greater.
Disaster recovery includes a phase of reconstruction, or ‘a new beginning’. A growth mindset during reconstruction means the community stays positive about the future which means they are extremely creative, innovative, and more open to testing ideas that may have been perceived as ‘too risky’ before the disaster.
The passion that Shammer displayed made it obvious that the community of Waterton stayed positive and banded together to attack the vulnerabilities they became aware of. Through his descriptions and energy, I felt the ferocious determination of the community to be better.
A new visitor centre is scheduled to be opened in the spring of 2021 by Parks Canada. For more information on Wateron you can also visit My Wateron.
I’d like to thank Shameer for his time and for all of the work he is doing, with the Chamber and other business owners, to recover.
I’d also like to thank the staff at The Tamarack and Caribou Clothes for being so helpful when I was in their shops. The were positive, polite, and very helpful.
Thank you for reading my two part blog on the 2017 Kenow Wildfire at Waterton Lakes National Park. Please leave me a comment or a like if you found the blog helpful or interesting.
For a bit of a different view of my trip, visit my Polarsteps trip page.
Brad Ison is a disaster management professional, All Hazards Coach, and owner of Hazardscape Management Inc.