Jasper Wildfire Out of Control!
People were forced to evacuate western Alberta’s Jasper National Park on Monday as fire burned close to townsite. As people flee the park, fire is still burning at fast speed and it is still out of control. The town of Jasper and the remaining portions of the national park are under an evacuation order that was issued Monday night for all visitors and about 4,700 locals.
By 3 a.m. on Tuesday, everyone in Jasper was instructed to gather their belongings and head west on Highway 16 into neighbouring British Columbia. During a video conference held at approximately 10 a.m. local time on Tuesday to discuss the wildfire situation in Alberta, Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis stated that one of the fires raging in the national park is situated approximately 12 kilometres south of the Jasper townsite, “on both sides of the river.”
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After Jasper wildfires erupted over the area on Monday night, forcing at least 10,000 locals and visitors to leave Jasper National Park, the City of Calgary opened its Emergency Operations Centre to assist evacuees.
Many were compelled by the wildfires to leave the mountain village in the middle of the night and go west toward British Columbia, where they had to contend with uncertainty, darkness, and heavy traffic.
There were over 160 wildfires that are still burning in Alberta, and about 96,000 acres are burned all ready, the Semo Complex fire is one of the biggest in Alberta and one of several that have been deemed “out of control.”
Although there are just 5,000 people living in Jasper, there may be up to 12,000 seasonal labourers there each year. One of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks and a UNESCO World Heritage Site is Jasper National Park.
Experts have no information yet when could the Jasper wildfire be under control.
