A devastated residential block in Jasper, Alta., is shown during a tour on July 26. Wildfires encroaching into the townsite of Jasper forced an evacuation of the national park and have destroyed over 300 of the town's approximately 1,100 structures, mainly impacting residential areas.AMBER BRACKEN/The Canadian Press
Fire destroyed or damaged roughly one-third of the buildings in Jasper, Parks Canada officials said Friday, after completing a preliminary assessment of the destruction caused by wildfires that ripped through the Alberta mountain community this week.
The federal agency said an estimated 358 out of 1,113 structures have been destroyed. The damage is concentrated on the west side of town, which is primarily residential but also includes some businesses.
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Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland told a news conference Friday that phone calls to residents to tell them whether their home or business was still standing had begun. Mr. Ireland, whose own home is in the affected area, toured Jasper following the briefing with provincial and federal officials.
He later confirmed he lost his house, although others on his street were untouched. “It was every bit as difficult as I anticipated,” he said.
The mayor wasn’t in Jasper when people were told to evacuate late Monday, two days before the fast-moving fire reached town. He was visiting family so he was unable to grab any of his belongings. Earlier in the day, he acknowledged how tough a situation it is for residents and business owners because there is no set timeline for when they’ll be able to enter Jasper to survey the damage for themselves. Wildfires continues to ravage the surrounding Jasper National Park.
“But there is starting to emerge, the glimmer of hope that we knew would be there,” Mr. Ireland said.
“If there are homes for some, there is community for all.”
Fire equipment lines a side street in Hinton, Alta., on July 25.AMBER BRACKEN/The Canadian Press
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, members of her cabinet and federal Minister of Emergency Preparedness Harjit Sajjan joined the mayor outside the wildfire training centre in Hinton. The group also toured the nearby incident command centre, which was established in a hotel parking lot after a wall of fire pushed officials out of Jasper on Wednesday.
Ms. Smith announced financial assistance will be immediately available to Jasper evacuees. Adults will receive a one-time payment of $1,250 and an extra $500 per child under 18 in their care. “Together, we’ll get through this,” Ms. Smith said. “No matter what comes, we are not going to lose the enduring magic of Jasper.”
The announcement marked a change to compensation rules, as people formerly had to be out of their homes for at least seven days because of an evacuation order to be eligible. The Alberta government has not done the same for other communities evacuated this season, including for members of the Little Red River Cree Nation in Alberta’s north. More than 160 fires were burning across the province on Friday, with about one-third of them classified as out-of-control.
Rain, cooler temperatures and firefighting efforts combined to put the fire burning in Jasper out by Friday morning, but the surrounding area remains under threat. Multiple wildfires, which eventually merged and have consumed roughly 36,000 hectares, were first detected on Monday. It took only two days for the fire to reach the community, eventually growing into such a monster that wildland firefighters and officials were forced to flee to Hinton.
“The nature of this fire was such that it humbled humans on the ground. They did everything they could. They are professionals. They knew what they were doing. They had the resources,” said Mr. Ireland.
“But in the face of all that, nature prevailed.”
Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland looks at what is left of his home of 67 years in Jasper, Alta.AMBER BRACKEN/The Canadian Press
James Eastham, the incident information officer on the Jasper fire complex, said in an interview the town’s critical infrastructure is intact. The hospital suffered superficial damage on the exterior but is considered unaffected. The fire’s flames, which reached some 100 metres into the air, didn’t reach the facility but it was singed by spot fires that ignited as embers from the main blaze jumped ahead.
Mr. Eastham said officials are working on a re-entry plan for the roughly 10,000 seasonal and permanent residents who had to evacuate. Jasper National Park, which envelops the town, was also evacuated and the park remains closed to visitors. Officials do not yet know when residents will be able to return, even for a preliminary visit.
“Until we secure the perimeter, there is still potential for it to spread if it warms up again,” he said.
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Officials have not yet been able to assess whether fire damaged Marmot Basin, the ski area outside the town, or the Jasper SkyTram, which ferries visitors up Whistlers Mountain, said Mr. Eastham.
But pressure is mounting on Parks Canada to provide information to community members, many of whom are using photos and videos of the town to try and piece together a map of what is still standing. Others are relying on word-of-mouth.
Video of Jasper shared on Facebook by Jeff Heyden-Kaye shows homes burned to the ground in the township.
Katrina Turcot, co-owner of Jasper Rafts Tours, said reports from friends working to put out the fires have all but confirmed that much of her business has been destroyed. She said their rafts, trucks and trailers, which were stored in an industrial area of the townsite, are gone. A staff room on-site that housed “decades of memories” was also torched by flames, she was told.
“It’s devastating on so many levels,” said Ms. Turcot over the phone on Thursday. “At this point, I don’t even care about my house. The fact that there may be something standing in Jasper means we might have something to go back to and rebuild.”
Firefighting reinforcements are quickly arriving in Alberta from across Canada and abroad. The military is also assisting the province by providing logistical support, aircrafts and helping with firefighting, road closures and wellness checks.
With a report from Fatima Raza
Jasper wildfire evacuees (left to right) Gina Jabes, Jeremie Rodger and Loni Klettl look at photos of the devastation in Jasper, trying to make sense of the areas they knew so well, from a restaurant in Hinton, Alta., on July 25. Some said they thought their houses were destroyed in the fire.AMBER BRACKEN/The Canadian Press