As flames raged through the mountain town of Jasper, officials believe between 30 and 50 per cent of the townsite may have been lost to the wildfire that burned its way into the community the night before.
Parks Canada said the most significant structural damage is concentrated on the west side of town, southwest of Miette Avenue.The fire also damaged several bridges around the town and throughout the national park, including the Moberly Bridge and the Old Fort Point Bridge.
Parks Canada said bridges on the Icefields Parkway will need to be assessed for structural damage as well, which will slow down access to the Maligne Lake and Highway 93.
While she cautioned that it is too early to give accurate estimates, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith shared the grim news with reporters on Thursday morning.“(We are seeing) horrific pictures and images,” Smith said as her voice trembled during a news conference where she was joined by other cabinet ministers and provincial emergency officials. “We will recover from this.”
On Wednesday night, officials confirmed the fire had impacted infrastructure.
Todd Loewen, Alberta’s minister of forestry and parks, called Wednesday a “truly heartbreaking day in our province’s history.”Prior to officials confirming Wednesday evening that the wildfire had crept into the community located inside Jasper National Park, about 25,000 people had already left the park ever since an evacuation order was issued Monday night.
On Thursday, Jasper National Park officials provided an update on the situation and said they could confirm all residents, visitors and responders are safe.
Winds with gusts upwards of 100 kilometers an hour from the south and southeast caused the north and south fires to both spread towards Jasper and merge together. An updated size was not available.
With Thursday’s rain and cooler temperatures, fire activity is significantly subdued but the situation isn’t out of the woods yet.“Jasper National Park received a small amount of rain overnight,” parks officials said. “While the rain helped reduce fire activity slightly, it is not enough to have made a meaningful impact to the overall wildfire situation, which remains out of control.“Parks Canada, the Municipality of Jasper, and our partners from Alberta and across Canada are continuing to respond to this emergency. In Unified Command, Parks Canada and the Municipality of Jasper continue to manage this crisis from the Town of Hinton.”
Officials added that “significant structural firefighting reinforcements arrived throughout the night and have continued to assist with firefighting efforts in the community overnight and this morning.”
Parks Canada said firefighting efforts prevented significant damage to much of the infrastructure in the east end of town such as the hospital, emergency services building, both elementary and junior/senior schools, activity centre and wastewater treatment plant.Mike Ellis, Alberta’s minister for public safety and emergency services, offered a harrowing account of what he was told firefighters faced as the flames entered the townsite.