Jasper wildfire updates: Alberta requests help from military as fire reaches historic town

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Wildfires near the town of Jasper in Jasper National Park prompted an evacuation alert late Monday night that has led to an estimated 25,000 people, including residents and visitors, to flee the area.

Follow this page for live updates.

What’s happening now

• Wwildfires bearing down on the historic Jasper townsite reached its southern outskirts early Wednesday night as a last-ditch attempt to reroute it failed.
• Deteriorating air quality forced wildland firefighters and others without self-contained breathing apparatuses to evacuate to Hinton.
• People who have not left Jasper are told to do so immediately.
• Alberta is requesting assistance from the Canadian Armed Forces to help with the ongoing wildfire efforts near Jasper, including firefighting and wildfire mitigation resources.
• The largest fire is estimated to be among the largest in Jasper National Park’s history at 10,800 hectares in size and burning just eight kilometres from the town.
• Parks Canada officials Wednesday said the smaller, 270-hectare south wildfire moved four kilometres to the north overnight, leaving it two-and-half kilometres from Valley of the Five Lakes, a popular hiking trail.
• Rain is forecast for Wednesday evening into Thursday but officials cautioned, “the rain doesn’t count until it’s on the ground.”
• Stranded backcountry visitors continue to be taken from the park, some via helicopter, as more reach cellphone range and check in with Parks Canada.
• Wildfire evacuees can register at the Edmonton reception centre, at Kennedale Site, Building #2, located at 12814 58 St. The evacuation centre will be open for as long as necessary.

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Wednesday 9:30 p.m.

By Dean Bennett and Lisa Johnson

THE CANADIAN PRESS

EDMONTON — One of two raging, wind-whipped fires menacing Jasper, Alta., roared into town Wednesday night and began burning buildings.

Parks officials say the fire entered the southern edge of the community about 6:40 p.m.

Pictures on social media depicted lodges and other buildings wrapped in fiery sheets of orange flame.

Some fire crews were ordered out as the battle switched from the forest to the streets.

“(The) air quality had deteriorated to the point that wildland firefighters and others without self-contained breathing apparatuses needed to evacuate to Hinton,” Parks Canada said in a statement.

“Structural firefighters remain in town and are working to save as many structures as possible and to protect critical infrastructure, including the wastewater treatment plant, communications facilities, the Trans Mountain Pipeline and others.”

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A few hours earlier, all first responders were ordered out of Jasper National Park for their safety and to give fire crews more room to operate.

That launched a line of cars and trucks snaking east to the town of Hinton, outside the park gates.

Jasper was under attack by fires from the north and south, and the town’s 5,000 residents — along with 20,000 park visitors — have already left.

The northern fire was spotted five kilometres from Jasper earlier Wednesday.

The southern fire had been reported eight kilometres distant from the town, but Katie Ellsworth, with Parks Canada, said strong wind gusts swooping in behind it sent it racing.

Everything that could go wrong earlier Wednesday did go wrong.

Fire perimeters changed minute by minute.

Ellsworth said bucketing efforts by helicopter failed.

Crews using heavy equipment to build fireguards couldn’t complete the work before having to pull back for safety.

Water bombers couldn’t help due to dangerous flying conditions.

A last-ditch effort to use controlled burns to reroute the fire to natural barriers like Highway 16 and the Athabasca River failed due to “unfavourable conditions.”

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The hope was that up to 20 mm of rain, forecast to begin falling in the area later Wednesday night, would bring some relief.

Alberta Forestry Minister Todd Loewen has asked the Canadian Armed Forces for help.

“We are requesting firefighting resources, aerial support to move wildfire crews and equipment and more,” Loewen wrote on the social media platform X.

The 25,000 fled at a moment’s notice two nights earlier.

The order to go went out around 10 p.m. Monday as fires cut off road access to the Jasper townsite from the east and the south, forcing evacuees to drive west into British Columbia in a long, slow midnight cavalcade through swirling smoke, soot and ash.

The following day, evacuees in B.C. who didn’t have a place to stay were directed to make a long, looping U-turn around the fires back to Alberta to evacuation centres in Grande Prairie and Calgary.

B.C., dealing with its own multiple wildfires and evacuees, did not have the capacity to help Alberta, officials said.

At the Grande Prairie evacuation centre, Addison McNeill recalled literally just arriving in Jasper when she was told to get out.

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McNeill said she had just put her bags down after moving from Edmonton for her new job as a line cook when she got an alert on her phone that she needed to leave immediately.

“I moved there two hours before the evacuation notice,” said the 24-year-old in an interview.

McNeill said went to a nearby hotel, one of two meet-up points for those without transportation. She hopped in a recreational vehicle with others and headed out — at a snail’s pace.

“Every single person in town was beelining to one exit from about six different routes and so you get bottleneck, backups and congestion,” she said.

McNeill said as she sat inside the vehicle, she felt so close to the wildfires that the windows seemed like they were going to shatter from the pressure of the red, hot, smoky air.

She saw acts of kindness amid the swirling ash: neighbours loaning their cars to those without; people knocking on doors to see if everyone inside was OK.

“It was far from a panic,” she said.

Jasper National Park, the largest in the Canadian Rockies, is considered a national and international treasure.

The United Nations designated the parks that make up the Canadian Rockies, including Jasper, a World Heritage Site in 1984 for its striking mountain landscape.

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It has hosted glitz and glitter. In 1953, Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe visited to make the movie “River of No Return.” More recently, the TV show “The Bachelor” was filmed there.

Jasper is famous for hiking, skiing, kayaking and biking.

It is also home to dozens of species such as elk, mountain goats, cougars, lynx, black bears and grizzly bears.

— with files from Fakiha Baig in Grande Prairie

Wednesday 9 p.m.

Some of the firefighters in Jasper National Park were forced to retreat to Hinton.

In a social media post about 8:30 p.m., Parks officials announced that due to deteriorating air quality, “wildland firefighters and others without self-contained breathing apparatuses needed to evacuate to Hinton.”

The news comes as social media posts show buildings in the town on fire, including one purported to be a well-known hotel.

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“Structural firefighters remain in town and are working to save as many structures as possible and to protect critical infrastructure, including the wastewater treatment plant, communications facilities, the Trans Mountain Pipeline and others,” Parks Canada’s social media post added.

“Many additional structural protection resources are en route.”

Premier Danielle Smith posted to social media indicating the provincial government would have further update Thursday.

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Wednesday, 7:45 p.m.

Wildfire reaches Jasper townsite

By Lisa Johnson, Canadian Press

One of two raging, wind-whipped wildfires bearing down on the historic Jasper townsite reached its southern outskirts early Wednesday night as a last-ditch attempt to reroute it failed.

Around the same time, all first responders were ordered out of Jasper National Park for their safety and to give fire crews more room to operate.

Firefighters remained in the town to douse spot fires and maintain sprinkler lines. Everyone else was reminded to get out.

“If you have not yet evacuated town you must leave now,” Katie Ellsworth, with Parks Canada, said in a statement posted on Facebook.

“Our hearts go out to all of the affected community members, their families and their friends, many of which include our local first responders.”

The northern fire was spotted five kilometres from Jasper earlier in the day.

The southern fire had been reported eight kilometres distant from the town, but Ellsworth said strong wind gusts swooping in behind it sent it racing.

Everything that could go wrong did go wrong as fire perimeters changed minute by minute.

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Ellsworth said bucketing efforts by helicopter failed.

Crews using heavy equipment to build fireguards couldn’t complete the work before having to pull back for safety.

Water bombers couldn’t help due to dangerous flying conditions.

A last-ditch effort to use controlled burns to reroute the fire to natural barriers like Highway 16 and the Athabasca River failed due to “unfavourable conditions.”

The hope was that up to 20 mm of rain, forecast to begin falling in the area later Wednesday night, would bring some relief.

Ellsworth said the decision to relocate all first responders to the town of Hinton, just outside the eastern edge of the park, “has not been made lightly.”

She said, “Given the intensity of fire behaviour being observed the decision has been made to limit the number of responders exposed to this risk.”

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Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.

In a post on X, Parks Canada announced that just before 6 p.m. “portions of the South Fire in Jasper National Park reached the outskirts of the Jasper townsite after being driven by strong winds gusts from the south and southeast.”

Officials said Parks Canada staff, municipal first responders as well as those from elsewhere in Alberta and Canada are “continuing efforts to protect the town.

People who have not left Jasper are told to do so immediately.

Katie Ellsworth, with Parks Canada, said the southern wildfire reached the outskirts of the townsite just before 6 p.m. A last-ditch effort to reroute the fire to natural barriers like Highway 16 and the Athabasca River failed.

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Rain is anticipated over the next 24 hours, which officials say could reduce fire activity. The moisture would be of benefit as officials said “suppression efforts by helicopter bucketing proved ineffective.”

Attempts to build fireguards using heavy equipment were not able to be finished before it was needed to be pulled back for safety. Water bomber planes were “unable to assist due to dangerous flying conditions.”

In an earlier social media post, Parks Canada announced first responders would be relocated to Hinton, except for firefighters working to protect the town.

— with files from The Canadian Press

Wednesday, 4:30 p.m.

Alberta requests federal assistance

In a Wednesday afternoon update, the province of Alberta said the government is now requesting assistance from the Canadian Armed Forces to help with the ongoing wildfire efforts in Jasper and Jasper National Park.

“Supports requested include firefighting and wildfire mitigation resources to reduce the risk to homes, businesses, critical infrastructure and communities,” the province said.

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Wednesday

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issues statement on Jasper wildfires

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Wednesday, (Updated at 3:15 p.m)

Jasper townsite threatened by two wildfires less than 8 km away

By Matthew Black

The Jasper townsite remains under threat from two nearby wildfires that have damaged infrastructure while converging from opposite directions and expected to grow Wednesday amid continued high winds.

Critical infrastructure in the townsite is being protected with sprinkler systems and fire barriers are being set up with bulldozers. Crews are also going through neighbourhoods and removing potentially flammable materials including dried brush and propane tanks.

“The priorities from this incident remain to keep people safe and keep the main wildfire away from the main town of Jasper,” said Katie Ellsworth, an incident commander with Parks Canada.

“The town of Jasper has not been impinged by fire at this time. All of our efforts are focused on controlling further fire spread and protecting our community.”

Read the full story here

Wednesday

Helicopter pilots work to get Jasper National Park wildfires under control

By Zac Delaney

In a secluded airfield, roughly 35 minutes from Jasper National Park, a former U.S. military helicopter prepared for takeoff on Tuesday morning to fight a different kind of fight: the park’s raging wildfires.

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At the Jasper-Hinton Airport, Airborne Energy Solutions — an aircraft rental service out of Whitecourt, Alta. — prepared for the second day of firefighting using its Black Hawk helicopter. The hulking heli, one of a handful in Canada, dropped 5,000-pound buckets holding more than 2,000 litres of water on the flames.

“We’re pulling out of the lakes, beaver dams, rivers — whatever we can find as the closest water source — and trying to slow the fire down,” said Dave Canavan, chief rotary-wing pilot for Airborne Energy Solutions.

Canavan and fellow pilots Lucas Myers and Cody Walker work in a team of three. The aircraft requires two pilots at one time, and the third rotates in on fuel stops, which happen around every two hours.

On Tuesday, the team worked eight and a half hours straight, dropping buckets of water on the north fire — the one closest to where media had to stop on the way toward the townsite.

Read the full story here

Wednesday

Jasper wildfire evacuees arrive at Edmonton relief centre

By Cindy Tran

Dozens of evacuees from Jasper have registered so far at Edmonton’s evacuation centre.

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After spending Monday paddle boarding on the lake in Jasper, Duncan Goodhelpsen headed back home to his apartment in town. From his balcony, he saw plumes of smoke and bits of ash snowing down from the sky.

Instead of waiting for the evacuation order he headed straight for a gas station along with his coworkers and spent Monday night in McBride, B.C., before heading to Prince George and Grande Prairie on Tuesday, then on to Edmonton, where he is originally from.

“I was talking to my manager and she’s a long-time Jasper local. I’ve only been in Jasper for a few years now, but I called her and she didn’t seem too worried. However, I kind of had a feeling something bigger was happening just based on the fact that all these fires (are happening),” Goodhelpsen said.

The Edmonton local said he is now staying with his parents who are also hosting his coworkers.

Read the full story here

Wednesday

Marmot Basin braces for wildfire impact to popular ski resort

By Jason Hills

Like many Jasper residents, Brian Rode is worried about what he may be facing when they’re eventually allowed back into town after wildfires in the area forced the evacuation of thousands Monday.

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And, as vice-president of Marmot Basin ski resort, Rode is worried about the impact the wildfires may have on one of the province’s most popular ski destinations.

“I personally go back and forth between checking for updates and trying to take my mind off it, but it’s tough. There are a lot of unknowns right now. What will be there when we get back?” Rode said.

“We know the landscape is going to be profoundly changed. As long as the town can survive, the changed landscaped grows. It’s hard to look at it from the perspective, but right now our big concern is what will happen to our town.”

Read the full story here

Tuesday

‘Panic’: Jasper evacuees U-turn from B.C. to find respite in Hinton

Zac Delaney

Brushing his teeth in the parking lot of a McDonald’s in Hinton on Tuesday, it was a long night for Jasper wildfire evacuee Daniel Turner.

The young Australian working this summer at Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge packed into a van with three friends after the 9:59 p.m. Monday Alberta Emergency Alert, ordering residents of the town of 4,700 to evacuate.

Turner and his friends initially complied with evacuation orders to head west through the dark mountains into B.C.

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They drove for more than three hours west towards Valemount, B.C., a town of just 1,000 about 120 kilometres away. He estimates the group got only about 10 kilometres down the road before seeing other vehicles in the bumper-to-bumper traffic turn around.

His group decided to do the same, going back through the Jasper townsite to Hinton, about 79 kilometres east, where they slept in the Canadian Tire parking lot after arriving around 4 a.m. Tuesday.

“I was actually at work when it all started,” said Turner, who recalls pulling his hoodie around his mouth and nose to prevent inhaling so much wildfire smoke as he packed up to flee.

“You could see it deteriorating, like ash falling.”

Asked what the feeling was when the alerts came through, Turner said it was “definitely panic.”

Read the full story here

Tuesday

Edson and Hinton return favour to help Jasper during wildfire evacuation

By Jason Hills

When Gean Chouinard got the late-night phone call, he knew this was his chance to return the favour.

The Town of Edson councillor volunteers his time with Moving Edson and Area transportation service. When he found out they were sending three buses to Jasper to pick up seniors in need after Monday night’s Alberta Emergency Alert — ordering residents of the town of 4,700 to evacuate — he knew he needed to step up.

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“You can’t help but flashback to what happened in our community in Edson last year, and this was my first chance to give back to them when they need it most,” said Chouinard.

Having experienced both a wildfire and flooding evacuation last year in the town of Edson, Chouinard knew what he’d likely endure.

“It doesn’t get easier, but when you go through one, you know what to expect. My first task was to get there safely and to be calm. These people need reassurance that everything is going to be alright,” said Chouinard.

Read the full story here

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