Post-fire renewal

Waterton Lakes National Park

In September 2017, the Kenow Wildfire burned through Waterton Lakes National Park. Over 19,000 hectares - 39% of the park's area - burned.

The wildfire created big changes in the park. Renewal takes time but it is well underway.

One year after the Kenow Wildfire

Transcript

Aerial shot of wildfire burning through a forest in Waterton Lakes National Park

Text on screen: In September 2017, the Kenow Wildfire burned in Waterton Lakes National Park

Text on screen: It burned with extreme intensity and moved quickly

Aerial shot of the Blakiston Valley, burnt post fire

Text on screen: Over 19,000 hectares of the park burned that night

Aerial shot of burned trees and smoky valleys

Text on screen: That’s 39% of the park’s area

Photo of two bears feeding on an animal fatality as a result of the fire

Text on screen: The fire’s extreme nature led to some animal casualties

Photo of a bear on the burnt landscape

Video of an elk herd running across the road

Text on screen: But many animals survived

Photo of an elk on burned landscape

Text on screen: Most large mammals observed soon after the fire appeared healthy

Photo of a moose among the burned trees

Remote camera images of a black bear on a trail

Text on screen: This is a local black bear two days after the fire

Remote camera images of the bear walking through the snow

Text on screen: She was healthy as she moved into hibernation

A mom bear and her three cubs cross the Entrance road in Waterton Lakes National Park

Text on screen: In the spring of 2018 she emerged with three cubs

Shot of spring wildflowers with burnt forest in the background

Text on screen: Grasses and other plants had regrown quickly

Remote camera video of the mom bear and her three cubs

Text on screen: The bear family were able to feed on the post-fire landscape

Zoom in to the bear and three cubs bathing in a lake

Text on screen: In late summer, they moved into unburned areas in search of berries

Night-time remote camera shot of the bear and her three cubs walking along a trail

Text on screen: Late summer and fall are critical times for bears to gain fat before hibernation

Photo of an elk herd on Blakiston Fan

Text on screen: Waterton’s wildlife are adapting to the fire-affected landscape

Aerial shot of Waterton Townsite and surrounding areas

Text on screen: The Kenow Wildfire has created big changes in Waterton Lakes National Park

Aerial shot of the Blakiston Valley and Red Rock Parkway

Text on screen: Renewal may take years and look different but it is already taking place

Shot of a bear walking along the Akamina Parkway

Text on screen: Wildfire is a natural process

Text on screen: Nature finds a way

Post-fire Renewal: Nature's Journey

Transcript

Parks Canada beaver logo fades in and out of screen

Text on screen: Post-fire Renewal: Nature’s Journey

Text on screen: This timelapse video shows the regrowth of a section of grassland in Waterton Lakes National Park following the Kenow Wildfire

Text on screen: A photo was taken from the same spot close to the Red Rock Parkway every day from May to August, compressing 3 months into 10 seconds!

Text on screen: May 2018

A sequence of images (timelapse) shows the grass and other plants growing

June 2018, July 2018 and August 2018 appear as text on the screen as the timelapse continues through the months

Video fades to a black screen

Photos from May, June, July and August dissolve into each other to show the change on the landscape

Parks Canada logo and text fades in and out

Text fades in and out (Copyright Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by Parks Canada, 2018.)

Canada text with Canadian flag fades in and out

In photos: A year of post-fire renewal

Two photographs taken from a similar viewpoint at different times, one in September 2017 and the other in June 2018.


Side-by-side comparison photos from September 2017 and June 2018: Red Rock Canyon.
Red Rock Canyon and trailhead
Crandell Campground in the Blakiston Valley
Side-by-side comparison photos from September 2017 and June 2018: Mount Galwey.
Mount Galwey above the Blakiston Valley
Red Rock Parkway with Mt. Anderson on the left
Side-by-side comparison photos from September 2017 and June 2018: Maskinonge.
Maskinonge looking south over the Waterton Valley
Prince of Wales Hotel National Historic Site
Side-by-side comparison photos from September 2017 and June 2018: Lost Mountain avalanche path.
Lost Mountain avalanche path above Blakiston Creek
Red Rock Canyon

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