This year, Kim Stark91裸聊视频檚 kids took responsibility for decorating the family Christmas tree.

Ornaments include toy cars, puzzle pieces, string and a pair of binoculars 91裸聊视频� things her three young daughters had handy after the family lost their home in summer91裸聊视频檚 devastating Jasper wildfire.

91裸聊视频淚 have the most wonderful tree on the planet,91裸聊视频� said Stark.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 part of our story and part of who we are.

91裸聊视频淚f (the kids) are happy, I91裸聊视频檓 happy.91裸聊视频�

Stark is part of the fabric of the Jasper townsite, a 10-year member of the fire department and owner of a coffee shop and bakery.

Her family, plus three furry pets and a fish, are living in a condo as they navigate rebuilding their home.

91裸聊视频�(The kids) miss our house, and we talk about our house,91裸聊视频� said Stark.

91裸聊视频淲e make sure we go to our neighbourhood, so that it doesn91裸聊视频檛 become somebody else91裸聊视频檚 neighbourhood.91裸聊视频�

Stark and other residents are anxious and nervous for the future following the fire that hit the town July 24.

About 5,000 residents and 20,000 visitors were safely evacuated before the fire breached the western edge of town and destroyed 350 homes and businesses, including 820 housings units. The Insurance Bureau of Canada pegged the damage at $880 million.

Six months after the fire, debris is still being cleared 91裸聊视频� lot by lot.

Locals including Stark are quick to say things could have been worse. But anxiety over temporary living situations and what may be a long and slow rebuild process has many residents and municipal leaders feeling unsettled heading into 2025.

For Sabrina Charlebois and David Leoni, the top concern is the Alberta government91裸聊视频檚 $112-million modular housing project. It91裸聊视频檚 to put up 250 pre-built rental units in the town and rent them to those displaced by the fire.

Social Services Minister Jason Nixon said the first homes should be ready by late January or early February, with the rest in April. The majority are to be multi-bedroom suites to accommodate families.

91裸聊视频淚f we can get all of our approvals on time, we definitely are on time to be able to build in the context of what we promised,91裸聊视频� Nixon said.

It91裸聊视频檚 complicated, he added, given there are layers of government with an Alberta town in a national park.

Charlebois was born and raised in Jasper. The fire destroyed her childhood home, which her late father built, as well as the salon where she worked.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 better than nothing,91裸聊视频� she said of the housing project, noting at least 2,000 residents were displaced so demand could outnumber the new units.

Charlebois, who has been staying in a hotel, said it91裸聊视频檚 understandable projects like this take time. But 91裸聊视频渨e91裸聊视频檙e six months into this, and there91裸聊视频檚 no homes for anyone.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淢y fear is not finding a place to live, because I have to be out of my hotel by the spring,91裸聊视频� she said.

Leoni, a dentist and former Olympic biathlete, and his family also lost their home, as did seven staff at his clinic. He said the April cutoff date Charlebois is facing also applies to his staff staying in hotels.

91裸聊视频淗opefully that91裸聊视频檚 concurrent with the provincial government91裸聊视频檚 opening of these modular units that they91裸聊视频檙e putting in, because we91裸聊视频檙e going to lose staff,91裸聊视频� said Leoni.

91裸聊视频淲ithout them I can91裸聊视频檛 do anything.91裸聊视频�

The clinic needed to replace $160,000 worth of equipment and required a top-to-bottom scrub before appointments resumed in October.

Leoni estimates his patient list is down one-third because of the fire. Whether those patients return remains to be seen.

Charlebois and Leoni both said their anxiety is heightened when they consider the unpredictable nature of the town91裸聊视频檚 tourism economy and how it could complicate the pace of rebuilding.

It91裸聊视频檚 a catch-22: residents need houses in order to rebuild and restart the economy, but they can91裸聊视频檛 restart the economy without tourists. And tourists require services, which require workers, who require housing.

Bill Given, the town91裸聊视频檚 chief administrator, said he91裸聊视频檚 optimistic the municipality can 91裸聊视频渢hread the needle.91裸聊视频�

But he has his own anxieties when it comes to rebuilding, namely the complexity of Jasper operating under both federal and provincial oversight.

91裸聊视频淎n associated risk of that is that individual agendas from different orders of government overtake the public interest in delivering on what Jasper needs,91裸聊视频� Given said.

91裸聊视频淚 think there91裸聊视频檚 also a risk, maybe somewhat smaller, that private interests overtake the broader public interest.91裸聊视频�

Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland, who lost his home in the fire, said they have to find a way.

91裸聊视频淔ailure is not an option for anybody,91裸聊视频� said Ireland. 91裸聊视频淲e have one chance to get this right, and that91裸聊视频檚 what we have to do.91裸聊视频�

In the meantime, Stark and her daughters watch from behind a fence as what91裸聊视频檚 left of their home is cleared away.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 super excited just to have a hole instead of a burnt spiral staircase that was coming up in my backyard.

91裸聊视频淣ow,91裸聊视频� she said, 91裸聊视频渋t91裸聊视频檚 just this beautiful dirt.

91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 future there.91裸聊视频�

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press