One of two wildfires threatening Jasper National Park reached the townsite Wednesday night and caused “significant loss.”
Parks Canada, in a Facebook update on its Jasper National Park page at 7:10 p.m., said the south fire came into the town that’s home to 4,100 residents at 6:40 p.m.
Here’s how the night unfolded between 5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.
10 p.m.: ‘Significant loss’ in Jasper
Parks Canada confirmed there is significant loss within the Jasper townsite, but did not provide further details.
“Our focus continues to be on saving as many structures as possible. Unfortunately, we can’t report on the extent of damage to specific locations or neighbourhoods at this time.”
“As the pictures and videos circulating online show, significant loss has occurred within the townsite.”
“We are sensitive that residents, business owners, visitors and those with connections to Jasper want to know the state of their homes, businesses, treasures and favourite places.”
The post indicates there will be no further updates provided on the fire on Wednesday night.
9:50 p.m.: Fire has reached Jasper Park Lodge grounds
Fairmont has confirmed fire reached the grounds of Jasper Park Lodge.
“We can confirm that the fire has reached the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge grounds, however, we are unclear on the extent of the damage,” Anastasia Martin-Stilwell wrote.
“At this time we know that parts of the resort remain untouched. We are monitoring the situation remotely and will provide more information as it becomes available.”
The Maligne Lodge was engulfed in flames on Wednesday night, Decore Hotels president Karyn Decore confirmed on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/karyndecore/p/C908lr7NZJv/
8:30 p.m. MT: More firefighters forced out of Jasper
At 8:30 p.m., all firefighters without self-contained breathing apparatuses were evacuated to Hinton as air quality deteriorated.
Firefighters remaining in the town are working to save critical infrastructure, including the wastewater treatment plan, communication facilities and the Trans Mountain pipeline.
Parks Canada says additional structural protection resources are en route.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a social media post thanking everyone who is fighting the fire.
“We have received Alberta’s request for federal assistance, and we’re mobilizing every necessary resource available,” he wrote.
Premier Danielle Smith also released a statement.
“I am heartbroken to see reports that the wildfire has entered the townsite of Jasper. The safety of everyone is our number one priority, and thankfully the town was evacuated earlier this week,” she wrote.
“I want to thank all of our firefighters and crews who have been hard at work fighting this fire day and night.”
6:40 p.m. MT: South fire reaches outskirts of town
One of two wildfires threatening the Jasper townsite in Jasper National Park has reached the southern outskirts of the Alberta Rockies community.
In an early evening statement, officials with Parks Canada and the Municipality of Jasper said the south fire, as of 6 p.m., was at the town’s south limits by strong wind gusts from the south and southeast.
The statement said firefighters remain in the community to combat spot fires and maintain sprinkler lines.
The officials said 10-20 millimetres of rain is forecast to arrive in the next 24 hours, beginning later tonight.
“If the area receives rain, it will help to reduce fire activity,” said the statement from Parks Canada Incident Commander Katie Ellsworth and Municipality of Jasper Incident Commander Christine Nadon.
They said afternoon work to fight the fire by helicopter bucketing “proved ineffective” and that fireguard work by heavy equipment wasn’t able to be completed before workers had to remove it from the fireline for safety reasons.
The officials said water bombers from Alberta were unable to help because of dangerous conditions.
They said an ignition specialist that came to Jasper to help “complete landscape-level ignition in order to bring the fire to large holding features such as Highway 16 and Athabasca River” has been prevented from doing the work due to “unfavourable conditions.”
6:20 p.m. MT: Wildfire moving ‘rapidly’ toward townsite
Alberta’s forestry minister is hopeful a wildfire threatening the townsite in Jasper National Park “won’t hit the town under its full fury.”
Todd Loewen, the province’s minister of forestry and parks, told CTV News Edmonton on Wednesday evening the “very aggressive” fire is moving “rapidly” toward the town.
“In these situations, the fire can change dramatically from one day to the next hour to the next,” Loewen said.
“There are a lot of crews on this fire, there are a lot of people working on it, but again, these things change quickly when it comes to the fire and that activity will change quickly, too.”
The minister said the top priority is keeping people safe, “not just for the people of Jasper, but also the first responders who are providing services to the first responders.”
“We’ve got some really good crews working on that, the best minds in the business,” Loewen said.
“Fire is fire, it’s going to do what it does, but we know with the proper management, we’re going to get the best out of it we can.”
5:30 p.m. MT: First responders relocated to Hinton due to wildfire activity
Parks Canada has confirmed that first responders are being relocated to Hinton as a result of “significant fire activity and forecasted strong winds.”
Vehicles and heavy equipment have been seen leaving Jasper National Park throughout Wednesday afternoon.
The park and townsite were evacuated on Monday night, leaving only essential personnel and firefighters behind.
“If you have not yet evacuated town you must leave now,” Parks Canada wrote in a social media post. “This is for your own safety and to allow these critical operations to protect the town of Jasper to continue unimpeded. This decision has not been made lightly.”
The sky over the park has grown steadily darker throughout Wednesday afternoon as a result of wildfire smoke, and ash is raining from the sky.
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson and Chelan Skulski
