A massive wildfire has devastated the western Canadian tourist town of Jasper, destroying up to 50 per cent of buildings and keeping firefighters trying to save as many buildings as possible on Thursday, authorities said.
Jasper is in the middle of the mountainous Jasper National Park in Alberta province. The town and park, which attract more than 2 million visitors each year, were evacuated on Monday when officials estimated there were 10,000 people in town and more than 15,000 visitors in the park.
“There’s no denying this is any community’s worst nightmare,” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told reporters in tears.
“We’re looking at potentially 30 to 50 per cent structural damage … it’s going to be a significant rebuild,” he said, adding that the fire remains out of control.
Parks Canada said there was “substantial damage” to buildings within the city, but added they could not provide specific details of the damage, or say which areas had burned, and urged residents not to return.
Video from the city showed vehicles and entire blocks burning, including a historic Anglican church.
Jasper resident Eva Korduliakova woke up on Thursday morning to the news that her house was burning from thousands of kilometres away. She was visiting family in the Czech Republic with her seven-year-old son.
“I am a single mother who became homeless and unemployed overnight,” she wrote in an email. “Our home is gone. I didn’t have a chance to pick up any of my belongings.”
Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland said the city was now beginning to deal with the “devastating impact” of the fire.
“Last night’s wildfires have devastated our small close-knit mountain community, the devastation and loss many of our residents have suffered is indescribable,” he said at a news conference.
A major concern for rescue workers is whether the fire will damage the Trans Mountain oil pipeline, which can carry 890,000 barrels of oil a day from Edmonton to Vancouver.
Pipeline operator Trans Mountain said in a statement: “At this time there are no signs of damage to our infrastructure, and pipelines are operating safely.”
CN Rail CNR.TO said it suspended rail operations in the city on Wednesday afternoon due to worsening wildfire conditions.
Vancouver, Canada’s largest port, said it expected delays to cargo movements through the port in the coming days due to the events in Jasper.
The federal government and other cities in Alberta are sending emergency crews. In addition, a total of 400 firefighters from Mexico, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand are set to arrive in the coming days.
‘Wall of Fire’
There are currently 176 wildfires burning in Alberta, more than 50 of which are out of control. About 10 of those fires are near the border with British Columbia, where 423 wildfires are burning and dozens of evacuation orders and alerts have been issued.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday afternoon that he has convened a meeting of the incident response group to discuss Alberta’s wildfires.
“Every federal agency is coordinating, sending resources to Jasper, deploying evacuation assistance in the area, and reinforcing firefighting efforts on the ground,” Trudeau said in a post on X.
The federal government said in April that this year could be devastating for wildfires in Canada because of high temperatures and dry forests.
According to Parks Canada, the Jasper fire was started Monday afternoon by lightning and strong winds.
Flames rose as high as 100 metres (328 feet) and strong winds on Wednesday afternoon pushed the blaze up to 5 km (3 miles) in less than 30 minutes, Alberta Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis said.
“Any firefighter will tell you there’s nothing you can do when the flames are coming at you like that,” Ellis said.
Environment Canada predicted 10 mm to 20 mm (0.4 to 0.8 inches) of rain on Thursday, which could help firefighters.
Jasper Park Lodge, one of the city’s largest hotels, said the fire had reached its premises. The 400-room accommodation is operated by Fairmont, a group owned by France’s Accor ACCP.PA.
The Jasper fire could be Alberta’s most damaging since a 2016 blaze that engulfed the oilsands city of Fort McMurray, forcing the evacuation of all 90,000 residents and destroying 10 per cent of the city’s structures.