Alberta Premier and Brooks-Medicine Hat MLA Danielle Smith was scheduled to appear at the Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede on Thursday. Chris Schwarz/Government of Alberta

By Eli J. Ridder

Danielle Smith cancels Medicine Hat Stampede appearances to focus on wildfire response

Jul 25, 2024 | 7:47 AM

Premier Danielle Smith has cancelled her planned appearances at the Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede to focus on her government’s response to a major wildfire in western Alberta.

“Given the escalating wildfire situations in our province, notably in Jasper, I will be cancelling my scheduled appearances in Medicine Hat today,” Smith, who is also MLA for Brooks-Medicine Hat, said in a statement to CHAT News.

Smith’s made the cancellations “in order to dedicate my full attention to working with our teams to handle the ongoing and evolving wildfire burning in the province.”

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Smith was scheduled to be the honorary Stampede parade marshall, make a keynote address at noon and give greetings for the professional rodeo in the early evening.

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Alberta’s Jasper National Park and its townsite are under siege from two wind-whipped wildfires. One raced into the picturesque community overnight, causing extensive damage.

Parks Canada says the fire has caused significant losses within the town, and the social media account for Fairmont’s famous Jasper Park Lodge says the flames had reached the hotel’s grounds.

As the fire consumed more fuel, officials said the air quality dropped to dangerous levels, prompting fire crews without breathing apparatus to flee to the nearby community of Hinton.

Jasper, a postcard-perfect mountain town, is famous for hiking, skiing, kayaking and biking. It is also home to dozens of species such as elk, mountain goats, cougars, lynx, black bears and grizzly bears.

The United Nations designated the parks that make up the Canadian Rockies, including Jasper, a World Heritage Site in 1984.

Photos on social media show lodges and other buildings wrapped in sheets of orange flame.

— with files from the Canadian Press