Wildfire near Jasper National Park prompts evacuations and highway closures

EDMONTON – Several fires in Jasper National Park erupted with a vengeance late Monday evening, forcing all park visitors, along with the 4,700 residents of the town of Jasper, to flee west, carelessly, over mountain roads in the dark , soot and ash.

Photos and videos shared on social media lit up a midnight cavalcade of bumper-to-bumper cars and trucks, headlights on, red tail lights on, cars stopping, starting, crawling through swirls of acrid smoke .

“It’s wall-to-wall traffic,” Edmonton resident Carolyn Campbell said in a phone interview from her vehicle.

“It (the smoke) is pretty thick. We have masks in the car.”

Campbell said it took hours to move just seven kilometers. She said they have plenty of gas, but are concerned about others who ran low on the tank.

The town of Jasper — and the park’s main east-west thoroughfare Highway 16 — were caught in a fiery pincer. Fires threatening from the northeast cut freeway access from the east to Edmonton.

Another fire breaking out from the south forced the closure of the north-south Icefields Parkway. That left one route open – west to BC

The municipality of Jasper and Jasper National Park said in an updated emergency alert Tuesday morning that evacuations from the city and park are “progressing well” and people should continue to follow directives as most traffic is directed westbound on Highway 16.

“Only when roadside fire conditions permit will small groups of escorted vehicles be directed eastbound on Highway 16,” city and park officials said in the alert.

“Assembly points are closed. Go to the Activity Center at 303 Bonhomme Street if you need assistance.”

Park and city officials scrambled to clear traffic jams, find fuel for vehicles, help vulnerable people to safety while pooling resources to fight the fires.

“Everyone in Jasper must evacuate now,” the Alberta government said in an emergency alert just after 10 p.m.

“Parks Canada is responding to multiple wildfires,” the federal agency added in its press release.

“This is an evolving and dynamic situation.”

Evacuees were told they had five hours to vacate – until 3am local time on Tuesday – and to bring key documents, pets, medicine and any other emergency supplies with them.

Those without travel were told to go to Jasper Activity Centre, Forest Park Hotel or Maligne Lodge.

In BC, the province struggled to find accommodation.

“BC will do everything we can to provide a safe haven for Jasper evacuees and is working as quickly as possible to coordinate routes and arrange host communities on our side of the border,” said Bowinn Ma, the minister BC for emergency management. in a post on social media site X.

The village of Valemount, just across the BC-Alberta border, has opened its community hall to receive evacuees, with limited space for overnight accommodation.

“We’re able to give them some water, possibly some snacks,” village CEO Anne Yanciw said in an interview.

“For those who have been evicted from their homes, we can give them vouchers for a place to stay and food vouchers.”

Yanciw said there was no immediate need to direct evacuees to move further west to Prince George — a larger center with more facilities to handle evacuees.

“They (evacuees) are already tired. It’s the middle of the night, and a three-hour drive to Prince George could only mean accidents. We tell them (Prince George) is their final destination, but not tonight. Yanciw said.

Back in Alberta, travel was not recommended west of Hinton, which is just east of the national park.

“Please avoid the area of ​​Jasper National Park along Highway 16 and allow first responders to do their job safely,” RCMP said in a news release.

Parks Canada said evacuations were in place at numerous campsites, as well as the Athabasca Hostel and the Palisades Education and Administration Centre.

Jasper National Park is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, home to campgrounds and extensive trail networks.

The Jasper fires were one of multiple wildfires in Alberta that have already forced another 7,500 people out of a string of remote communities.

The province has been baking and stewing for days in 30 degree C plus temperatures.

More than 160 fires were burning in Alberta, coughing up clouds of smoke, obscuring the sky.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 23, 2024.

Dean Bennett and David Boles, The Canadian Press