Jasper wildfires: 'Monster' wildfire devastates historic Canadian resort town (2024)

Summary

A wildfire is ravaging the historic Canadian tourist town of Jasper and the surrounding national park, with an official from Alberta province saying it is still out of control
"This is the worst nightmare for any community," Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said as she fought back tears during a news conference
Roughly 25,000 people have evacuated from Jasper National Park - "I know at least a dozen families whose homes are gone," one evacuee told CBC News
The scale of the damage is still unclear, but an official says 30% to 50% of buildings in Jasper may have been destroyed
The fire started during a lightning storm and was fuelled by powerful wind gusts in an area that had experienced drought
Hundreds of firefighters from around the world are arriving to bolster the response - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, meanwhile, says his government has approved a request for federal assistance

Live Reporting

Edited by Jessica Murphy and Emily McGarvey

Recap: Canadian wildfires leave resort town 'ravaged'published at 22:29 25 July
22:29 25 July
Image source, Ryan Jespersen
We're going to be pausing our live coverage shortly. Here's a reminder of the latest developments:
- Some 25,000 people have been forced to evacuate the historic Jasper National Park in Alberta because of wildfires which were sparked earlier this week
- Officials say the fire was started by a lightning storm that escalated on Wednesday - the fire was 5km (3 miles) outside of Jasper when powerful winds pushed it to the town in less than 30 minutes
- Park officials at Jasper National Park - a tourist hub - said the blaze has caused "significant loss" within the town
- The exact amount of infrastructure burned remains unclear, but Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said that between 30 and 50% of the buildings in Jasper have potentially been destroyed
- At least 400 firefighters from around the world are joining efforts to help battle the flames in the coming days, including 100 from Mexico, 200 from South Africa and 100 from Australia and New Zealand
- Jasper's Mayor Richard Ireland said the wildfire has "ravaged our small, tight-knit mountain community"
- The famous Rockies resort town of Jasper has about 5,000 residents but the park had almost 2.5 million visitors last year
You can read more about the wildfires in our news story, here.
BBC journalist describes 'worrying' journey near firespublished at 22:27 25 July
22:27 25 July
Earlier we heard from the BBC’s Wendy Hurrell, who was at the town of Golden, on the edge of Jasper National Park, with her husband and 8-year-old daughter.
Her family was staying in a "tinder dry wood" log cabin, and after seeing the fires closing in on the area, they joined a convoy of people who were leaving.
She describes seeing people trying to box up a horse in a trailer, and the difficulties of getting fuel for her vehicle because it was being rationed by one gas station.
"There were fire engines going in the opposite direction," she says. "People were looking really upset and worried about what was happening."
She says her daughter took the quick departure in her stride.
"My daughter is an adventurer and a real trooper," Hurrell says. "We decided not to tell her last night when we realised that the fire had got closer until the last minute, once we decided what to do. But there was a moment that she felt quite frightened by it."
Editor's note: A previous version of this post said Hurrell was leaving Jasper. It has been amended to say Hurrell left Golden, a town on the edge of Jasper National Park.
Watch: The town that burned down in a day in 2021published at 22:11 25 July
22:11 25 July
The Canadian wildfires have left the tourist town of Jasper "ravaged".
Buildings in the town have been burning after wildfires forced 25,000 people to evacuate the area earlier this week, officials said.
The reports are reminiscent of Lytton, Canada, which went up in flames amid extreme heat in 2021 - watch more in the clip above.
Hotel staff went 'door to door' to ensure guests escapedpublished at 21:51 25 July
21:51 25 July
Karyn Decore, owner of Maligne Lodge, one of the oldest hotels in Jasper, tells the BBC she was "horrified and devastated" when she saw images of her hotel burning in the wildfires.
The managers of the hotel went door to door to ensure every guest had cleared the property before the fire reached it, she says.
Managers helped around 100 staff working at the hotel - many of whom are foreign workers and don't have vehicles - coordinate rides out of the city to drive west towards British Columba.
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"It's really hard to for everyone to comprehend that we lost one of our properties," she says.
To know that her family and employees have no place to live and may not have jobs in the immediate future is "heart-breaking", she says.
Image source, Karyn Decore
Officials warn against fake damage reportspublished at 21:38 25 July
21:38 25 July
Jasper National Park is warning residents of an unofficial incident map that purportedly shows damage from the wildfire.
"This map is not an official incident map," a Facebook post from the park reads. "It was a hastily drawn operational map used by structural protection to identify areas to focus their response efforts. It does not represent damage to specific properties or the extent of damage to any individual area or property."
National Park officials say they will share more information when they can.
'It was too dangerous to stay' - BBC journalist recounts leaving Jasperpublished at 21:19 25 July
21:19 25 July
BBC’s Wendy Hurrell was in Jasper National Park with her husband and eight-year-old daughter when the fires were burning on Monday.
She drove through a storm to Golden, British Columbia, 308km (191 miles) south of Jasper that night to leave town.
"The storm was ferocious - the skies went dark red and there were whipping winds, fierce rain and lightning," she says.
"Our beautiful log house was deep in the woods with only one way out so we decided it was too dangerous to stay."
She recalls the temperature in Jasper had reached 39C (102F) just a few days earlier.
On a boat tour in Lake Maligne, she says her tour guide said the prophetic words: "It's so hot and so dry and there are so many dead trees, it feels like only a matter of time before we get a really big fire here."
Hurrell says she feels lucky that she and her family escaped before the fire massively escalated yesterday.
"We are some of the last travellers to see Jasper in its full beauty - it will be a very long time before it will recover," she says. "It's utterly devastating for them all and my heart is breaking."
In pictures: Jasper before it was ravaged by wildfirepublished at 21:05 25 July
21:05 25 July
Image source, Tourism Jasper
During a tearful press conference earlier, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said about 30-50% of buildings in Jasper could have been destroyed by the out-of-control wildfires - you can see some of the devastation in the video in our earlier post.
The famous Rockies resort only has about 5,000 residents, but Jasper National Park had almost 2.5 million visitors last year. All of the town's residents have been forced to flee, along with more than 20,000 park visitors.
Jasper National Park "comprises rough-and-tumble mountains, valleys, glaciers, forests, alpine meadows, and rivers", National Geographic says. , external
It boasts "spectacular mountain drives" and is "chock-full of wildlife, home to some of North America’s healthiest populations of grizzly bears, moose, and elk", it says.
The town is the hub for most people that visit the park, and it's as yet unclear how much of the town will be left after the wildfire is extinguished.
Image source, Tourism Jasper
Image source, Tourism Jasper
Image source, Tourism Jasper
Canadian PM thanks 'brave first responders'published at 20:55 25 July
20:55 25 July
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau turned to social media this afternoon to thank first responders for their response to the Alberta wildfires.
"As the heartbreaking images from Jasper emerge, I want to thank the brave first responders who are in Alberta right now, fighting to save every home and every community they can," he writes.
Trudeau also thanked international firefighters - from Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa - for coming to help in the coming days.
He says they will be "shoulder-to-shoulder with our Canadian teams".
WATCH: Driver films destruction in Jasper after wildfirepublished at 20:40 25 July
20:40 25 July
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What did we just find out about the fire?published at 20:39 25 July
20:39 25 July
Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland and Pierre Martel, manager of the National Fire Management Division, have been speaking at a media briefing. Here's a quick re-cap of what they said:
- Martel said the fire was started by a lightning storm and escalated on Wednesday when the flames moved 5km (3 miles) in less than an hour, fanned by powerful wind gusts
- "It's just a monster at that point," Martel said. "There are no tools we have in our tool box to deal with it"
- Ireland said that some of the details will "simply have to wait until later" because firefighters are still working to contain the blaze
- He added that his town is still coming to term with the wildfire, which he says has "ravaged our small, tight-knit mountain community"
- He says he wants to reassure people they have committed to support the community through this "truly unprecedented challenge"
Fire update with Jasper mayor wraps uppublished at 20:28 25 July
20:28 25 July
That's a wrap from the Canada Parks press conference we have been listening in on.
One particular thing of note towards the end of the briefing was the officials warning locals against getting updates from social media, unless it was shared by an official source.
We've been hearing that the fires are still raging and the focus has been on getting them under control, so there has not been much in the way of firm details on the damage at Jasper.
Stick with us, we will bring you a recap of that briefing shortly.
'Monster' fire started after lightning stormpublished at 20:21 25 July
20:21 25 July
There are more than 100 fires burning in Alberta right now. The one that tore through Jasper started late on Monday and was sparked by a lightning storm.
"They were accompanied by very, very strong wind and we had already significant drought conditions that have been building up through the summer," Pierre Martel, manager of the National Fire Management Division at Parks Canada, says.
He adds that by the time the fire was detected, it was already significant and emitting a lot of smoke.
Things escalated yesterday when the fire moved 5km in less than an hour. This was driven by powerful wind gusts towards the town of Jasper.
"It's just a monster at that point," he says. "There are no tools we have in our tool box to deal with it".
Quote Message
It's just a monster at that point... There are no tools we have in our tool box to deal with it"
Pierre Martel, National Fire Management Division
Mayor says fires are 'unprecedented'published at 20:11 25 July
20:11 25 July
Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland says the community is beginning to come to terms with the "destruction and the loss" caused by the wildfire, offering his "deepest sympathies" to the town's residents.
He says he wants to reassure people they have committed to support the community through this "truly unprecedented challenge".
He adds: "To all of the responders on the ground in the town [and] in our home, words cannot express the admiration and the gratitude I have for your professionalism, dedication and their unyielding efforts."
Firefighters have not had a chance to assess damage yetpublished at 20:06 25 July
20:06 25 July
The mayor is speaking along with Pierre Martel, manager of the National Fire Management Division.
Martel says at the moment, personnel are more focused on fighting the fire than assessing the damage.
Journalists are asking the officials questions, and their focus is on what the damage is.
But so far, the responses have indicated that we are unlikely to have any firm details of structural damage in the town of Jasper at this stage.
Earlier, we heard the Alberta premier say it's possible 30% to 50% of buildings in Jasper could have been destroyed.
Fire has 'ravaged our small, tight-knit' town, mayor sayspublished at 20:03 25 July
20:03 25 July
Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland says he had hoped to learn more today about the extent of the fire's devastation, but says is focused on the ongoing response.
He adds that his town is still coming to term with the wildfire, which he says has "ravaged our small, tight-knit mountain community."
Ireland says the extent of the loss defies description.
Jasper mayor holds press conferencepublished at 19:53 25 July
19:53 25 July
Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland is now speaking at a press conference with Parks Canada.
He starts by saying some of the details will "simply have to wait until later" because firefighters are still working to contain the blaze.
Stick with us, we will bring you his comments shortly.
'Very high risk' air quality alert in parts of Albertapublished at 19:51 25 July
19:51 25 July
There are more than 170 active wildfires in Alberta, triggering air quality alerts in multiple areas.
In Calgary and Cold Lake, air quality have been categorised as "very high risk" by the Canadian government.
At least 18 cities and other sub-locations have a "very high risk" air quality forecast on Thursday.
The coming rain has lowered the air quality risk for Friday, with more "moderate" and "low" risk assessments.
Record wildfire year in Alberta in 2023published at 19:49 25 July
19:49 25 July
The wildfires raging through Alberta right now are happening on the heels of a historically damaging wildfire season in 2023.
Last year, roughly 2.2 million hectares burned in Alberta between 1 March and 31 October.
Officials said the number of wildfires that burned was about average, but noted that the area burned was record breaking.
Scientists have blamed part of the worsening natural disasters on human-led climate change that has contributed to higher average temperatures and longer wildfire seasons.
- You can read more about why Canada is having so many wildfires here
In pictures: Wildfires devastate Albertapublished at 19:46 25 July
19:46 25 July
There are very few images that show the current situation in Jasper, Alberta. These are some of the photos we have seen so far.
As authorities continue to work to contain the blaze, we will likely get a better understanding of the damage that has been done.
Image source, Jasper National Park
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Reuters
Six things we learnt about Canada's wildfirespublished at 19:36 25 July
19:36 25 July
We've just been hearing from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who delivered an emotional news conference about the situation in Canada. Here's what was said:
- Firefighters are working in dangerous conditions to try and protect buildings in the town, Smith told reporters
- She said it's still too early to say how much infrastructure has been affected - but that it could be between 30% and 50% of the town
- Smith, clearly struggling to deliver the update through tears, said Jasper and the surrounding area has been a "source of pride with some of the most beautiful scenery in the world" and promised its residents that "we will recover from this"
- An Alberta wildfire official said 400 firefighters from around the world are helping fight the fires
- Mike Ellis, Alberta's minister for public safety, said the "vast majority" of people evacuated from Jasper were visitors
- Meanwhile, Alberta's Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen said firefighters, support personnel, water trucks, a dozer group, helicopters and airtankers have all been sent to help fight the blaze