Sheena Millar spent some of the best moments of her life in Jasper. In good times, she let the cares of the world slip away amid the beauty of Maligne Lake, watched deer grazing outside her motel room and had far too much fun at the Atha-B (a.k.a. the Athabasca Hotel). In the hardest times – after the death of her fiancé – it was Jasper where she went to grieve and find peace.
“You could give me a ticket to go to Paris, and I would sell it and use that money to go to Jasper. I think a lot of people feel that way,” Ms. Millar said. “It’s almost like we could all open up our Jasper photo albums and we’d have the exact same pictures, because there was just so much of it that we all loved in the same way.”
As people in Alberta have sometimes said, “Banff is for tourists, but Jasper is for us.”
Ms. Millar choked back tears as she – like countless others around the province, the country and the world – tried to process the pictures that had been burning through social media since out-of-control wildfires entered the community on Wednesday: the skeleton of Maligne Lodge engulfed in flames, the streets of the townsite turned grey with ash, stunning mountain views blocked by deep orange skies and dense billows of smoke.
Premier Danielle Smith herself struggled to get the words out as she addressed the media on Thursday.
“For many generations, the town of Jasper and the park surrounding it have been a source of pride. With some of the most beautiful scenery in the entire – in the world,” Ms. Smith said, pausing repeatedly to clear her throat, to sigh and breathe deeply, to choke back tears.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks about the Jasper wildfire situation in Edmonton on July 25. Smith is set to tour the resort town of Jasper to see firsthand the devastation caused by wildfires.JASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press
“Our grandparents visited to experience the majesty of this place, with its mountains and lakes and meadows. They took our parents, and then took us to this special spot that they’d spent time in as children,” Ms. Smith said.
“And now we take our own loved ones and visitors from around the world to feel that same feeling that you get with your first glimpse of mountains on the horizon. A feeling that, even though you’ve just left home, you’re coming home.”
On social media, and in conversation, people likened the losses in Jasper to the destruction of something beloved and sacred, and grieved it just as deeply. Some described it feeling like a death in the family, a personal and wrenching loss.
As Alberta writer Alexis Kienlen observed, “I don’t know if people from other parts of Canada can comprehend how painful it is to lose Jasper. It’s devastating. We’re losing so much history that will never be rebuilt.”
Alberta has grieved communities ravaged by fire before: Slave Lake in 2011, Fort McMurray in 2016. But Jasper is different.
The depth of feeling reflects not only the concern for a real community – a place that, despite playing host to millions of visitors a year, always managed to feel welcoming and comfortable, like a small town – but a place that is deeply entrenched in the lives of so many.
Fire equipment lines a side street in Hinton, Alta., on July 25.AMBER BRACKEN/The Canadian Press
Jasper is a four-hour drive from Edmonton, sometimes longer depending on how many mountain goats or elk are loitering on the highway. It’s a favoured site for engagements and weddings, romantic getaways and family trips. Because of that, it is deeply part of Albertans’ history and experience, the site of so many important memories and milestones.
Brieanne Colville has been going to Jasper since she was two years old, following the same tradition: Marmot Basin to ski, the rooftop at Whistler’s Inn to look at the views, and then Jasper Pizza. Thirty years later, Jasper was her first trip with the man who would become her husband, and, later, the obvious choice for their wedding.
“We didn’t even think of having our wedding anywhere else,” she said. “We grew up going there.”
For others, the connection to Jasper is newer, but no less strong. Toronto resident Sharif Sharaf camped in Jasper for the first time last month, as part of a cross-country trip made with five friends from Afghanistan. Mr. Sharaf, who fled Afghanistan and came to Canada in 2021, recounted friendly locals helping his group get settled at the campground, and said the environment of the area reminded them of their home country.
“I am really sorry to hear about the fires,” said Mr. Sharaf, who in Afghanistan worked as a fixer and translator for The Globe and Mail. “Jasper is my favourite place.”
On Facebook, country singer Brett Kissel recalled Jasper as the place he’d celebrated anniversaries, performed shows and, once, polished off a bottle of whisky in celebration after signing a record deal.
“Whenever anyone would ask me where “they must go if they come to Canada” (let alone Alberta) I have always proudly said, “you must go to Jasper!,” he wrote.
“There isn’t a more picturesque community on the planet, and I’m praying for the safety of the entire population – praying for the safety of all the first responders and firefighters – praying for the safety of the magnificent buildings and structures and landmarks – and praying for rain. Hard, steady rain, so that as much of the town can be saved as possible!!!”
Megan Warren: Jasper is grieving. But my community will survive the fire
Wedding planner Sandra Cassios has made the drive to Jasper dozens of times from her home outside Edmonton, for ceremonies set against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains. Though the setting is breathtakingly grand, Ms. Cassios said people are drawn to Jasper because of its intimacy and history.
“It’s not just the sheer beauty, the mountains and the turquoise waters … it tends to be a very nostalgic place for a lot of people in Alberta,” she said. “They visit with their family when they’re a kid, then they want to celebrate their wedding there.”
Originally from Montreal, photographer Bea Payette was only supposed to visit Jasper for a few months.
“I was like most people here – you come for a season and that turns into five years,” she said.
Ms. Payette rented an apartment downtown, alongside a small-knit community of avid photographers, seasonal workers and devout nature-lovers.
During tourist season, she worked as a boat captain on Maligne Lake. In her off-time, she snapped photos of people hiking through rugged canyons, snowshoeing, or playing hockey on a frozen lake.
One of the photos circulating on social media showed a fire blazing next to Marmot Lodge in downtown Jasper, near her apartment.
“Anyone who’s had the privilege of calling Jasper their home knows how big of a loss this is,” she said. “When we’re back in town, life as we know it would have drastically changed. … The economy is mostly tourism, so I don’t think any of it will go back to the way it was for a long time.”
By Friday, it was clear that some key landmarks had survived. The historic Jasper Park Lodge suffered fire damage, but the main structures were still standing, and sections of the townsite and infrastructure remained.
Flags from around the world greet visitors at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge in this 2009 photo.George Rose/Getty Images
Other iconic sites, such as the historic St. Mary and St. George Anglican Church, are lost.
“Albertans are going to band together like we did for Fort Mac, like we did for Slave Lake,” Ms. Millar said. “We’re exceptional when it comes to banding together in community and taking care of each other. But that’s a town that you can’t just rebuild.”
“How did we let this happen?”
– With research by Rick Cash