🚒 Questions Over Canmore Fires

Good morning, Bow Valley!

Who had snow on their August bingo card? If the Bow Valley is anything like the BVI office, we know at least half of you are already itching for ski season, while the other half are dragging their feet and going, “Hmph, not yet.” Whichever camp you’re in, yesterday the mountains gave us a little taste of what’s coming.

- Fortune Whelan, Ben S., Brendan Nogue, Alexia Chambers

RCMP WARN OF UNSAFE FIRES NEAR CANMORE HELIPORT 

What's Happening? Canmore RCMP are warning about unsafe outdoor fires after saying authorities have been called multiple times this summer to fires near the Alpine Helicopters heliport (map here). But Canmore Fire-Rescue says it has no record of responding to any fires, campfires or smoke at the site in 2026.

So, What's Going On? RCMP recently posted a photo of a fire burning in the wooded area near the heliport and said police, firefighters and the Town had been called "multiple times" this summer about fires that were unsafe and out of control.

But RCMP didn't provide dates, the number of incidents or information about warnings or charges.

Detachment commander Staff Sgt. Greg Tulloch told Bow Valley Insider the warning was intended to highlight fire safety and the potential consequences of starting fires where they aren't permitted or where they could spread.

Fire-Rescue's Records Tell A Different Story. Town of Canmore communications advisor Nicky Pacas told Bow Valley Insider that Fire-Rescue has not responded to any reports of illegal fires, campfires or smoke around Alpine Helicopters this year.

Firefighters did extinguish a small woodland fire behind Canmore's wastewater treatment plant on July 22, but Pacas said that was a separate location.

More broadly, Fire-Rescue hasn't recorded any incidents categorized as human-caused or illegally lit outdoor fires in Canmore this year. Pacas said response numbers remain low and consistent with historical norms.

Conditions Have Changed Since The Warning. RCMP issued its warning on Aug. 21 during a stretch of dry late-summer weather. Since then, rain and snow have moved through parts of the Bow Valley, bringing cooler conditions.

Alberta Wildfire's latest update from Aug. 28 rated wildfire danger in the Calgary Forest Area as moderate. At that time, there were no active wildfires in the region.

The Fines Aren't Small. RCMP highlighted several offences under Alberta's Forest and Prairie Protection Act that carry $840 fines, including failing to control an outdoor fire or prevent it from spreading.

There's no indication any of those fines were issued in connection with the fires referenced by RCMP.

Whether it's near Alpine Helicopters or elsewhere in Canmore, the Town is asking anyone who sees an unattended or suspicious fire to call 911 immediately. 

Read our full story

BANFF PRIDE IS A MONTH OUT, AND THEY NEED VOLUNTEERS.

This year’s festival runs October 2 to 12. Eleven days, two weekends, and a program put together by people who live and work in this valley. There's the march down Banff Avenue on the opening Friday, Reading with Royalty at the library, free distillery tours, drag brunch, Pride Bingo, punk night, an ecstatic dance evening, late-night parties, and much more. However you want to take part, there's a way in.

The most useful way in right now is volunteering, and Banff Pride is short.

Roles are open across the festival and beyond it. The Festival Street Team, the March and Flag Raising Team, Operations and Logistics, Photography and Content, plus community events like Craft Nights at Altitude and shifts at the Banff farmers market. Some are guest-facing, some are setup and behind the scenes. No experience needed. Reliable and community-minded is the whole list.

What you get out of it: free access to select events, snacks on shift, volunteer swag, and a few hours with people you'll be glad to know. Most opportunities are one-time commitments, so you pick the shifts that fit your week rather than signing away your October.

Sixty-plus volunteers made last year's festival happen. This one needs the same.

🙋‍♀️ Get involved

_{*Presented by Banff Pride.}

THE DIGEST

• 🚗 Bow Valley Parkway Goes Car-Free Again as Cycling Use Climbs 46%. Starting tomorrow (Sept. 1), public vehicles will once again be restricted from the 17-kilometre stretch between Fireside Day-use Area and Johnston Canyon (map here), giving cyclists a largely traffic-free ride through Oct. 6. And it’s getting more popular. Parks Canada recorded 93,311 cyclists during the two seasonal closures in 2025, up 46.5% from the program’s first year in 2022. E-bikes are allowed, although cyclists should still expect occasional Parks Canada and utility vehicles. Never cycled it before? Watch our video on how to do it properly.

• 🎶 Bow Valley Bus Driver Turns His Stories Into an AI Country Album. Marcel Heim can’t sing or play an instrument, but that hasn’t stopped the longtime writer from making music. The 66-year-old former Bow Valley bus driver spent years collecting observations and snippets of conversations from his routes between Canmore, Banff and Lake Louise. Now he’s using AI music platforms to turn those words into a 12-track country album, including songs like Three Elk on Banff Avenue. We were playing his album in the BVI office over the weekend, and it’s actually awesome. We’ve got a link to the full playlist on our website.   

• 🤍 Missing Hiker Found Dead on Tent Ridge. A woman reported missing on the evening of Aug. 23 was found dead the following day after an extensive overnight search involving Kananaskis Mountain Rescue, RCMP and a Canmore RCMP canine unit. Tent Ridge is a popular Kananaskis hiking route that includes sections of scrambling and exposed terrain along the ridge. Police say the death is not suspicious, and the medical examiner is determining the cause. It comes less than a week after another woman died after falling from Mount Yamnuska on Aug. 19. This is the fifth hiking-related death in Banff and Kananaskis since June. 

• ❄️ Late-August Snow Turns Rocky Mountain Ski Resorts White. Winter made an appearance yesterday, with fresh snow coating alpine terrain at Sunshine Village, Lake Louise and Kicking Horse. Parks Canada also reported fresh snow on trails around Sunshine Meadows and Rock Isle Lake, while lower-elevation trails around Banff were mostly described as wet or muddy. Check out photos from all three resorts, or watch one mountain biker tackle Kicking Horse’s freshly snow-covered trails. And as an FYI: Sunshine Village reported its first snow on Aug. 21 in 2024, more than a week earlier than this year. Just a reminder that this isn’t unusual.   

What Happens After Someone Sees Your Ad?

Do they:

A) Click
B) Buy
C) Forget you existed 3 seconds later

Most businesses don’t know.

We do.

We track leads and actual customers.

Because “awareness” doesn’t pay the bills.

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BANFF COULD LOSE 30 DAYS OF DEEP COLD A YEAR AS CLIMATE WARMS

What's Happening? A new Parks Canada climate report offers a glimpse at how different Banff could feel within decades. Under a high-emissions scenario, the park could see hotter summers, 30 fewer days below -15 C each year and a frost-free season more than twice as long as it was historically.

The Numbers Are Pretty Striking. Between 2051 and 2080, Banff could average 16 days above 25 C each year, compared with just one historically. Days below -15 C could drop from 67 to 37, while the average hottest day rises from 23 C to nearly 29 C.

The frost-free season could be even more noticeable, increasing from a historical 46 days to as many as 115.

More Precipitation, But Potentially Drier Summers. Annual precipitation is projected to increase, but summers could actually become drier. At the same time, heavy precipitation events are expected to become more intense, with the maximum amount falling over a five-day period increasing about 14%.

Warmer temperatures also mean more precipitation falling as rain instead of snow.

It's About More Than The Weather. Parks Canada expects warming to accelerate glacier loss, shorten the winter snowpack and thaw alpine permafrost. Alpine meadows could shrink as trees and shrubs move higher, while heat waves, droughts and wildfires could become more frequent or severe.

Parks Canada Is Already Preparing. Tomi Postma, public relations and communications officer for Banff National Park, told Bow Valley Insider the report is meant to help Parks Canada and the public understand what's coming and identify ways to adapt. 

That work includes prescribed burns to reduce wildfire risk, seasonal restrictions to protect sensitive habitat, and preparing buildings and emergency systems for more extreme weather. Parks Canada is also replacing some fleet vehicles with electric or hybrid models and has replaced diesel generators at specific sites with a solar microgrid.

Read our full story

THINGS TO DO

Monday

• Canmore Art Guild Show Ends Today. Today is your last chance to catch the Canmore Art Guild’s August Group Show at Elevation Place. The exhibit features original work from local artists, with Dana Roman as this month’s featured artist. It’s open from 11 AM - 5 PM at the Canmore Art Guild Gallery inside Elevation Place. Free. 

• Final Music Monday of the Season. Music Mondays wraps up for the summer tonight at the Grizzly Paw Beer Garden, with free live music, lawn games and $2 off draft beer. If you’re looking to squeeze a little more out of the long weekend, grab a pint and catch the final outdoor show of the season. 6 PM - 9 PM. Grizzly Paw Beer Garden, Canmore. No cover.*

Tuesday

• Cheap Tuesday Movie Night in Banff. The Dog Stars is playing at Lux Cinema, following a pilot who survived a devastating pandemic and now lives at an abandoned airport with his dog and a gun-toting ex-Marine. When a mysterious radio transmission suggests a better life might exist elsewhere, he takes to the skies to find it. 7 PM. Lux Cinema, Banff. $8.99. 

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• 🍽️ The Drake Has a New Menu. If you haven’t been to The Drake Screaming Retriever lately, there are a few new reasons to stop by. The new menu includes pesto burrata pizza, truffle and mushroom tagliatelle and the Drake Double Smashed Burger. There’s also something happening most nights, from Monday karaoke and Wednesday wings to Thursday trivia and live music and DJs on weekends. Check out what’s happening this week. We also love their tagline, “Where Canmore Gathers.” Pretty accurate, if you ask us*

• 💡 New Video Explores How Canmore Became So Expensive. A recent YouTube deep dive traces Canmore’s transformation from working coal town to one of Canada’s priciest mountain communities, including the closure of the mines, the impact of the 1988 Olympics and the development boom that followed. It’s an outsider’s take on a familiar local story, with a little dramatic YouTube framing thrown in, but an interesting watch if you’re curious how Canmore got here.  

• 🦌 Elk Rut Season Begins in Banff National Park. Parks Canada has issued its annual safety reminder as mating season gets underway through mid-October. Bull elk can become especially aggressive, so stay at least 30 metres away, keep dogs leashed and never get between a bull and females. If an elk approaches, back away slowly and put a tree, rock or other solid object between you and the animal. 

• 👕 Canmore’s Clothing Swap Returns Sept. 11. Now’s a good time to start going through the closet. Clothing Swap-O-Rama runs Sept. 11-13 at the Canmore Public Library, with donations of clean, gently used clothing, shoes and accessories accepted starting Sept. 5. Then come back during the swap and take whatever catches your eye. It’s free, open to everyone and there’s no limit on how much you can take home.

• 💰 Canoe for a Cause Raises $24K for Bow Valley Projects. Last week’s annual Banff Canoe Club fundraiser raised $24,000 for the Banff Canmore Foundation, about $5,000 more than last year. The Foundation distributes funding to local organizations and initiatives tackling everything from affordability and food security to arts and environmental projects. The event included canoe and kayak rentals, a BBQ, silent auction and Big Canoe race, with donations from the Banff Centre, Canmore Cave Tours, Mt. Norquay, Rose & Crown, SkiBig3, The Juniper Hotel, Pursuit and more.

CIVIC NEWS

• Nearly 700 Seed Packets Pass Through Canmore Library Exchange. Local gardeners picked up about 300 free seed packets and dropped off more than 400 this summer, with peas, beans and tomatoes among the favourites. Now in its third year, the program has grown each season, with edible plants proving especially popular as more locals try growing their own food. Anyone can take seeds without donating any in return. Organizer Melissa Lambe eventually hopes to turn the exchange into a full seed library.

• MD of Bighorn Adds More Stories to Oral History Project. The MD continues to build its collection of interviews with longtime residents, preserving stories about family life, local industry, recreation, politics and how communities have changed over the years. If local history is your thing, there’s quite a collection to dig through. The latest additions feature Dene Cooper reflecting on moving to Exshaw, community growth, 17 years in municipal politics and life in the hamlet. 

LIVE MUSIC

• Monday, August 31st, 6:00 PM: Contra. Location: Rose and Crown, Banff. $10.

• Tuesday, September 1st, 9:00 PM: Banff Punk Night: Volume 19. Location: Pump and Tap, Banff. No Cover.

SPORTS

• Banff Springs FC Wins Bow Valley Soccer Championship. Banff Springs FC capped off a dominant season by defeating rival Canmore United 5-1 at Millennium Park to win the Bow Valley Soccer League tournament. Banff scored three times in the opening 15 minutes and never looked back. The victory completed a season triple for the club after also winning the league and indoor season. Judd Panozzo was named tournament MVP after scoring five goals over the weekend. 

That’s all, folks!

We’ll see you back here on Wednesday, same time, same place! 

Heads Up: We sometimes feature paid promotion from local businesses and organizations we trust. When you see a little asterisk (*), that means it’s a sponsored post. We only work with partners we think our readers will actually care about.