It is the huge forest fires in the state of Alberta that have engulfed large parts of the town of Jasper, which is located in the national park of the same name. Pictures from the scene show burned-out cars and entire neighborhoods engulfed by the fire. Since Monday, 25,000 people, 5,000 of them permanent residents, have been forced to flee.
During Friday, the mayor, government representatives and provincial representatives visited the affected area and witnessed the devastation with their own eyes.
“Somewhere in here is a photograph of me with a birthday cake sitting on moving boxes when I was two years old,” said the mayor, Richard Ireland, as they stopped in front of what was once Ireland’s family home.
– There are so many others who will go through the same thing.
A third of the city destroyed
Alberta Provincial Minister Danielle Smith said at a joint news conference in Jasper that the most structural damage is concentrated on the west side of the city.
– Our preliminary observation shows that approximately 33 percent of the Jasper townsite suffered total or partial structural loss, says provincial minister Danielle Smith at a press conference.
– All important infrastructure appears to be protected, including the hospital, both primary and secondary schools, the activity center and the treatment plant.
Danielle Smith also emphasizes that the fire that ripped through the town of Jasper and the national park is still out of control, but thanks to rain and cooler temperatures, the fire has now been contained significantly.
– It is still unsafe for people to return. We cannot have unrestricted re-entry into the park at this time.
Several fires in the province
Alberta is currently battling 176 wildfires, 50 of which are out of control, Reuters reports. Several of the fires are near the border with the state of British Columbia, also in western Canada, where over 400 forest fires are raging.
Canada’s Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Harjit Sajjan, said at the press conference in Jasper that 2.3 million hectares have burned in Alberta alone. He also said that across Canada there are approximately 1,160 active forest fires, of which 280 are currently out of control.
The fire in Alberta could be the most devastating since the fire in Fort McMurray in 2016 that forced all 90,000 residents to evacuate and destroyed 10 percent of the city’s buildings, writes Reuters.