For the first time since wildfires that have destroyed about a third of Alberta’s mountain town forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate Jasper National Park, a clearer picture of the devastation is emerging.
On Friday, Premier Daniel Smith and other officials toured the scene in the town where hundreds of buildings, mostly homes, were destroyed by fire earlier this week.
Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland was also there and said before the departure that he wasn’t sure how it would go emotionally but imagined it would be very tough.
“It’s important for me to go and represent the community and figure out what we need to work on,” he said in a candid interview.
“The area that was hit the hardest by the fire is where my house is, so there’s a good chance it will be an impact and I’m doing my best to prepare for it. But I don’t know yet how I’ll react.”
During the tour, the worst was confirmed: their Irish home was gone.
Alberta Premier Daniel Smith, Forestry Minister Todd Rowen and federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajian look on as Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland looks at the remains of his home of 67 years, which was destroyed in the wildfire.
Tyson Kosick/Canadian TV Pool
“Is this your family home?” PM Smith asked as the group stood in the street looking at the wreckage.
“Yes, 67 years,” Ireland replied quietly.
“Oh my gosh, it’s unbelievable,” a shocked Smith said. Ireland said she now understands how her neighbours feel.
“I’m now able to speak to residents who are in the same situation… I understand your pain.”
All that remained of the house was the foundation and chimney, and looking into the basement, Ireland found the remains of some furniture, including a filing cabinet.
“I see the memories of lives lost,” he said, taking in the view of the home his family has lived in since he was 2. “I see 67 years.”
“Many others will be going through the same thing.”
The foundations are charred where homes have stood for decades.
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The charred frame of what was once the family car.
The remains of the Petrocan gas station where countless travelers stopped to refuel during their journeys along mountain roads.
Construction equipment is demolishing what remains of Marine Lodge, which provided one of the first images from the fire on Wednesday night.
And some homes were left standing amid the destruction.
Sadly, this is an all-too-familiar scene in Alberta, where wildfires left similar trails of destruction in Slave Lake in 2011 and Fort McMurray in 2016.
Premier Smith spoke about the loss in an interview with Global News on Friday night after returning to Hinton from Jasper.
“It’s a difficult outlook … but I think people need to be prepared,” Smith said. “The areas that have been hit by the fires have been hit very, very hard.”
Smith said the fire was still burning at the scene, and the tour, accompanied by news cameras, showed crews battling the blaze in the southwestern part of the city, which is the hardest hit area.
About 30 per cent, or one-third, of the community has been damaged or destroyed, Parks Canada and Smith said in a statement early Friday.
According to Parks Canada, 358 of the town’s 1,113 total buildings were destroyed.
According to Parks Canada, all of Jasper’s critical infrastructure was saved, including the hospital, emergency services building, primary school, middle school, high school, activity centre and wastewater treatment plant.
The main fire, which started south of the town in strong winds, burned through a valley and travelled around three miles (5km) in just over an hour.
Officials estimated that the canopy fire jumped from treetop to treetop, sending flames traveling 15 metres a minute and reaching hundreds of metres into the air.
“Despite all the preparations, the nature of this fire made it a humiliating situation for people on the ground,” Ireland said.
“They did everything they could. They’re professionals. They knew what to do. They had the resources. They did everything they could. But in the face of it all, nature won.”
Ireland said Jasper residents are not unaware of the dangers and believe Parks Canada, which oversees western Alberta’s mountain parks, has done all it can over the past decade to mitigate the threats.
“We live in a forested mountain area. Most of us live there by choice. We love the environment. It’s our home, our recreational space, and we want to be in the mountains.”
“We want to be in nature, but that means our community is exposed to the threat of wildfire.”
Efforts are underway to remove trees killed by the mountain pine beetle, whose advance into eastern Alberta was halted several years ago thanks to harsh winters that killed off the destructive insect.
But the damage had already been done.
“The condition of the forest has undoubtedly been affected by the pine sawyer beetle, but the impacts have been so great that it is unreasonable to think that we could have done anything about it. The measures we have taken have been thoughtful and professional.”
Parks Canada estimates the fires have burned 36,000 hectares (about the size of 67,274 football fields).
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
