West coast ports expect operations will be affected as wildfire forced trains to travel slower than normal through the area
REGINA — The grain handling and transportation system is experiencing delays due to the wildfire that destroyed at least a third of Jasper, Alta., last week.
The Canadian National Railway line that runs through the community re-opened July 26 after the company had to halt traffic two days earlier.
Trains began to run at about half their usual 55 m.p.h. speed because of smoke and concerns about track condition but were back to normal over the weekend.
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The fire remains out of control and a threat.
Western Grain Elevator Association executive director Wade Sobkowich said last week that CN usually runs 40 trains a day on that line but it had dropped to between 10 and 12.
“These are total trains, grain and other commodities as well,” Sobkowich said.
“CN has about 120 trains stopped in various places throughout their network as a result of the Jasper fire so far.”
Cooler, rainy weather helped firefighters through the weekend and allowed traffic to resume.
Grain monitor Mark Hemmes said July 29 he had yet to analyze data from the weekend, but all movement was certainly affected and will be for the next few weeks.
“We had some pretty strong deliveries in the country the past few weeks, and the port terminals were right on top of it,” he said in an email.
“Usually July and August are the slow period of the year, so that helps a bit.”
Sobkowich said July 29 he understood it would take five to 10 days for the backlog of grain to the West Coast to clear.
A Port of Vancouver spokesperson said delays for all movement are expected.
“We’re seeing a minor increase in anchorage demand at this time,” said Alex Munro.
“There are currently 12 bulk grain ships at the Port of Vancouver — three at berth and nine at anchor — which is pretty typical for this time of year.”
He said staged trains were transiting through the Jasper region.
A port operational update said the plan involved train detours over the Canadian Pacific Kansas City track between Calgary and Kamloops, B.C. Both railways were using fire suppression trains.
Similarly at the Port of Prince Rupert, spokesperson Olivia Mowatt said the interruption in rail service would have an effect.
“At this time, marine terminals continue to operate but some will likely be impacted by the interruption of rail service,” she said. “Updates on port operations resulting from this service disruption will be provided as more information becomes available.”
Via Rail also runs through Jasper. The company said last week its historic train station and platform appeared to be intact, but it had temporarily halted operation, with the Toronto to Vancouver trips terminating in Edmonton and all Jasper-Prince George-Prince Rupert trips cancelled until July 31.
CN initially suspended service July 23 due to two wildfires burning in the area and implemented its firefighting train, Trident, early that morning.
The next day it resumed operating after developing an operational plan with the Unified Incident Command Centre and added a second firefighting train, Neptune. But later that day CN again suspended operation as the wall of fire swept through the town.
The company’s July 26 update noted traffic had resumed.
“After inspecting its infrastructure on Thursday afternoon, CN collaborated with the Unified Incident Command centre to revise and implement its operational plan allowing goods to safely resume movements Friday morning through Jasper,” the statement said.
“CN remains in regular contact with unified command and all parties involved, and monitoring weather and fire movements.”
The company also pledged to work with the community as it rebuilds.
Meanwhile, the River Valley Agricultural Society and Hinton Search and Rescue evacuated horses out of Jasper National Park as the fire pushed closer.
The groups moved 80 horses to the society’s facility, where donated hay and water were available.
