“Devastated.” “Heartbreaking.” “Disbelief.”
To scroll social media Thursday is to be swept into a collective grief for Jasper, Alta., after a wildfire roared into the historic resort town Wednesday, leaving vast stretches of it burned to the ground. Online, people are sharing photos and memories of the beloved town and national park in the Canadian Rockies that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith tearfully described as “magic” in a press conference Thursday.
“For many generations, the town of Jasper and the park surrounding it have been a source of pride, with some of the most beautiful scenery in the world,” Smith said, struggling to speak through her emotion.
“Our grandparents visited to experience the majesty of this place, with its mountains and lakes and meadows. They took our parents, who then took us. This special spot.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith fought tears on Thursday as she spoke about the devastation experienced by Jasper residents as a wildfire ravages the historic townsite. ‘The feelings of loss and fear and loneliness must be overwhelming,’ Smith said at a briefing in Edmonton. ‘We share the sense of loss with all of those who live in the town, who care for it, and who have helped build it.’
Mike Ellis, Alberta’s public safety minister, summed up the feelings of many.
“We all have a memory of our first visit … which is why this fire and the destruction it caused is so devastating for all of us,” he said speaking alongside Smith at the same Thursday press conference.
Smith said the full extent of the damage is unknown but a large portion of the townsite has been destroyed.
“Sick to my stomach seeing the tweets & photos from Jasper,” communications business owner Annalise Klingbeil wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “One of my fav places on earth. Camped there last week. Just devastating.”
“This is horrible,” storm chaser Jeremy Rand wrote on X. “The most beautiful and iconic town could be gone by morning.”
Sick to my stomach seeing the tweets & photos from Jasper. One of my fav places on earth. Camped there last week. Just devastating. <a href=”https://t.co/jFGNDERJC5″>pic.twitter.com/jFGNDERJC5</a>
—@AnnaliseAK
Edmonton writer Alexis Keinlen, speaking with The Canadian Press news agency, recalled the winter 2015 wedding of a friend, when the party gathered in the evening before the ceremony by Lake Agnes on the grounds of the Jasper Park Lodge.
The lodge is now at least partially burned.
“It’s a huge amount of history and memories that are now lost,” Keinlen said.
Maligne Lake, Jasper Park<br>Lawren Harris<br>1924 <a href=”https://t.co/ffR5iSaSj5″>pic.twitter.com/ffR5iSaSj5</a>
—@Canada_Painting
She recalled the wedding party drinking hot chocolate around roaring fires and taking turns skating.
The dark of the lake and the clarity of the sky felt “otherworldly,” she said.
“You could see all the stars above. It felt really big.”
Ecological grief
There was a similar outpouring of grief when wildfire tore through the historic Maui town of Lahaina last August, leaving it in ruins, and when Hurricane Fiona devastated the P.E.I. coastline in 2022.
Fiona caused over $289 million in insured losses across the Island. The damage to P.E.I.’s beloved beaches and sand dunes left many describing feelings of loss and grief. The term “ecological grief” has been used to describe this feeling in research studies.
“Such experiences resonate strongly with [the] concept of ‘solastalgia’, described as the homesickness one feels whilst still at home and, more recently, as grieving related to the loss of a healthy place and a thriving ecosystem,” notes a 2018 study.
One of my genuine favorite places in the world is burning and in a catastrophic state.<br><br>1 week ago it looked like this and today it looks like the 4th pic.<br><br>My heart goes out to everyone who lives there, it’s in shambles 💗 <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/jasper?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#jasper</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/JasperWildfire?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#JasperWildfire</a> <a href=”https://t.co/vzHrtPQqz7″>pic.twitter.com/vzHrtPQqz7</a>
—@SimplyMaeg
A post by the Edmonton Oilers on X Thursday called Jasper “the jewel of Oil Country.”
Jasper has been such a special place for our team over the years, from hosting multiple prospect & training camps to being the hometown for many <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Oilers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Oilers</a> fans 💙🧡<br><br>We are devastated to see this jewel of Oil Country damaged by wildfires & our hearts go out to all those affected. <a href=”https://t.co/RW75wzc7Ic”>pic.twitter.com/RW75wzc7Ic</a>
—@EdmontonOilers
Others recalled how Jasper was frequented by the rich and famous, including Marilyn Monroe.
Hoping the Jasper Park Lodge is okay. <br>It is a beautiful place, with so much history around it.<br>Built in 1921, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth stayed there in 1939.<br>Many famous people from Marilyn Monroe to Bing Crosby have stayed there. <a href=”https://t.co/cJ5kvkTjdq”>pic.twitter.com/cJ5kvkTjdq</a>
—@CraigBaird
Queen Elizabeth II visited Jasper in 2005 as part of an Alberta tour, and was photographed leaving mass at St. Mary’s and St. George Anglican Church.
Footage from Thursday showed the church in ruins.
For Kelley Ware, Jasper was a meeting place for her and her now-husband a decade ago. She was living in Prince George, B.C., and her partner was in Edmonton, and they would meet in Jasper every few weeks.
“It was completely fundamental to building our relationship. My husband has a tattoo of Pyramid Mountain,” she said, refrencing one of the peaks in Jasper National Park.
A video posted to social media shows a vehicle headed west on Turret Street and turning onto Tonquin Street. Credit: Jasper Pizza Place/Instagram