The remains of restaurants and businesses in Jasper, Alta., on July 26.AMBER BRACKEN/The Canadian Press
The highway that runs through Jasper National Park is being reopened for select commercial vehicles, but officials warn the wildfire that has destroyed nearly one-third of the townsite’s structures will likely become more active during a stretch of hot, dry weather.
Officials are also preparing to transport seniors who were living in the town’s three care homes from British Columbia back into Alberta and are working to determine when it would be feasible to allow Jasper residents into the community to check on their homes and properties.
The wildfire in Jasper has consumed 32,500 hectares since last week, making it the largest burn in the famed alpine park in the past 100 years. And while crews have put out the flames in the townsite, the wildfire continues to burn around it.
“Weather like what we have coming – increasing temperatures, decreasing humidity and a forecast of increasing winds – are all prescriptions for fanning the flames,” Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland said at a briefing in Hinton, Alta., on Thursday.
He sighed before adding: “It will happen. There will be more flames.”
More than 10,000 seasonal and permanent Jasper residents have been forced to evacuate, along with roughly 15,000 visitors. Firefighters have said the flames could burn for months.
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Mr. Ireland, whose own home burned down, said many Jasper residents have expressed their desire to view the damage to their properties. “It is jarring, but it is also part of the healing journey we all have to go through,” he said.
“We are working on that, recognizing that there is still fire on the landscape. We can only let people return when it is safe for them, safe for the people still on the ground responding to the wildfire.”
Highway 16 – a major artery that runs through Jasper and continues into British Columbia – will now be available to trucks, tractors and trailers with a registered weight above 11,794 kilograms. However, RCMP will only allow access during three time blocks: 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Parks Canada building sprinkler system to encircle Jasper to protect town
Dean MacDonald, the deputy incident commander on the wildfire, said the time restrictions for commercial vehicles were created because he does not want anyone on the roads in Jasper overnight. “We want it to be easy for firefighter personnel to move safely in and out of there,” he said.
In the meantime, the Alberta government is bringing back displaced senior Jasper residents to the province again from small communities in British Columbia – such as Valemount, a village west of the national park that had initially welcomed 16,000 evacuees last week before they were moved elsewhere.
Jason Nixon, Alberta’s Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services, said any senior resident who is not with their family will be able to return close to Jasper in Hinton. “There, they’ll be receiving the same service that they would have in the Jasper area,” he told reporters.
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The province is expected to announce schedules for several transportation methods for seniors and other Jasper residents as early as this weekend, Mr. Nixon added.
Steven Guilbeault, who is the federal minister responsible for Parks Canada, said Jasper was saved because of the preparations made in advance of the wildfire.
“Jasper is arguably one of the best-prepared towns in the country to face the type of wildfire we’ve seen,” he said. “It’s what we’ve been doing in Jasper since the late ‘90s that has led to what is now a national plan called FireSmart, which we’re replicating all across the country. Had we not done that, there would be no Jasper today.”
The devastation in Jasper highlights the impact of more damaging wildfires on Canadian tourism
Randy Boissonnault, federal Minister of Employment and Workforce Development, said Ottawa is fast-tracking the provision of all employment insurance claims, old-age security and child care benefits through Service Canada.
He said officials are also working to get businesses running again as soon as possible. “But with fires burning in the region, we cannot talk right now about restoring tourism,” Mr. Boissonnault added.
“This fire has burned an area that is half the size of Edmonton.”
Todd Loewen, Alberta’s Minister of Forestry, Parks and Tourism, drove for about 30 minutes near Jasper this week and could only see burnt forest.
“There’s a lot of work to do,” he said.
“We are talking about something that is on a scale that is hard to imagine. It is heartbreaking,” Mr. Boissonnault added.