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.
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