During the historic fire that ripped through Jasper in July, hundreds of buildings burnt to the ground. One of them was a house that belonged to Richard Ireland, Jasper’s mayor.
Ireland has lived in Jasper his whole life and been mayor since 2001. Three generations of his family have lived in his house, which is now reduced to ash. In an in-depth interview with Maclean’s managing editor Katie Underwood, Ireland talks about what he experienced during the fire and how Jasper is now rebuilding from the rubble.
After the fire was finally extinguished, Ireland returned to Jasper on a tour bus. “Coming up a side street,” he says, “I saw that my neighbour’s house appeared to be untouched. I could see my back fence and the roof of my garage. For a moment, I thought I’d been spared. I jumped off the bus and ran a few steps. But there was a hole in the ground where my house used to be. When I looked down into the foundation only a few mattress springs and some appliances had survived.”
—Sarah Fulford, editor-in-chief
