As the evacuation order continues for Jasper National Park, officials confirm that some structures in the park have been damaged by fire, but they can’t confirm what those structures are.
“We can confirm that there have been some impacts along the Icefield Parkway and along Highway 16, however due to the burning conditions, the heavy smoke and the aggressive fire behaviour yesterday, it was not safe for firefighters or aircrafts to get to those structures and provide accurate, up-to-date assessments,” Katie Ellsworth of Parks Canada told reporters on Wednesday.
“Once we are able to access those areas safely either from the air or from the ground we will provide further information on structure loss.”
The structures could include power poles, campgrounds, day use areas, picnic sites or washrooms, Ellsworth said.
The fire has not breached the town and no structures in the town have suffered fire damage.
“All critical infrastructure within the town of Jasper has been protected with structure protection and sprinklers,” Ellsworth said.
“We are working to protect the properties within the community, and crews are currently removing flammable vegetation and combustibles and patrolling the area and are ready to respond should the fire begin to spot into town today.”
The fire to the south of Jasper is now eight kilometres from the townsite and is now approximately 10,800 hectares.
On Monday, it was 12 kilometres from the town.
The fire north of the townsite is now five kilometres from the town and is about 270 hectares in size.
The south fire is now one of the largest fires in Jasper National Park in history.
Wildfire smoke in Jasper National Park on July 23, 2024. (Sean McClune/CTV News Edmonton)
Ellsworth said conditions on Wednesday are expected to be similar to recent days, with high winds in the area.
“We expect today that we’re going to have strong winds continuing, and we expect that this will increase our fire behaviour and fire growth on both sides,” she said.
There is rain in the forecast for Wednesday night and into Thursday.
“We do anticipate if we receive the precipitation we will see a reduction in fire activity, however the rain doesn’t count until it’s on the ground, and there isn’t enough rain in this forecast to control the wildfire.”
“This will not create conditions that will allow for the immediate return of residents and visitors.”
Ellsworth says there is currently no timeline for people to return to the community.
Evacuation continues, some residents remain
Work is still underway to evacuate hikers from the backcountry areas in the park.
Ellsworth says 240 people have already been contacted or rescued, and all SOS or family concerns have been dealt with.
“Today we’re going to work toward evacuating people from more low-risk trails, including the Brazeau, the north and south boundary, and this evacuation is currently underway,” she said.
“Parks Canada is contacting all backcountry reservation holders to confirm that they’re no longer in the park.”
Wildfire smoke in Jasper National Park on July 23, 2024. (Sean McClune/CTV News Edmonton)
Nicole Pyfh left the park on Tuesday. She arrived in Jasper on Saturday with eight other friends to hike in the backcountry.
“It was beautiful, looked like business as usual. The park was packed,” she told CTV News Edmonton on Wednesday.
“We stopped at the park’s gate and as we were going in, and they said, ‘Everything is all good, have a great hike.'”
She and her friends spent several days and nights on their planned hike before they learned of the evacuation on Tuesday morning.
“Monday is when things got kind of scary, because there was a lot of lightning,” she said.
“[Tuesday] morning too the smoke grew quite quickly. We were set to return to our vehicles anyways, but I don’t think we’ve ever hiked so quickly before.”
She said her party travelled to Valemont, B.C., on Tuesday. She was still there on Wednesday when she spoke to CTV News.
“We’re making the best of it. We’re definitely not as impacted as those who live in Jasper.”
Wildfire smoke in Jasper National Park on July 23, 2024. (Sean McClune/CTV News Edmonton)
While most people have left the park, Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland says some civilians have remained in the town of Jasper to help support the first responders that have arrived in the community.
“They provide food, shelter, accommodation, all the things those people need while they’re there protecting our community,” he said.
“These people who have stayed behind are not professionals. They are not trained for this particular role. Forty-eight hours ago they perhaps had no expectation at all that they would be thrust into this.”
Ireland thanked those that remained, and said there are plans to evacuate them should the danger increase.