Alberta – One of Canada’s most beautiful towns is in ruins.
This week, wildfires have been raging across Canada. In Alberta, a few wildfires are ongoing in Jasper and Jasper National Park. On Thursday night, officials from Jasper National Park listed the wildfire’s complex to be nearly 89,000 acres. The wildfire resulted in an ordered evacuation, with 5000 residents and 20,000 tourists being forced out.
In Thursday’s press conference, a heartbroken Alberta Premier, Danielle Smith, confirmed that 30-50% of the town had been either damaged or destroyed by the flames. Some buildings, like the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, have sustained damage but remain standing.
The closest ski area to Jasper is Marmot Basin. According to Ski Area Management, an evacuation order was issued for Marmot Basin earlier this week. However, it doesn’t have summer activities, and the 30 full-time employees were off-site when the evaluation order was announced.
Brian Rode, who’s the vice-president of Marmot Basin, told the Edmonton Journal regarding his mindset about the future of the ski resort:
“I personally go back and forth between checking for updates and trying to take my mind off it, but it’s tough. There are a lot of unknowns right now. What will be there when we get back? We know the landscape is going to be profoundly changed. As long as the town can survive, the changed landscaped grows. It’s hard to look at it from the perspective, but right now our big concern is what will happen to our town.”
Luckily, they received some rain yesterday, which helped mitigate the fire. While dryer weather has returned today, the next few days will likely result in a tamer spread of wildfires due to Thursday’s wet weather. However, dryer conditions are expected to return this weekend.
Image/Video Credits: Jasper National Park, Global News, CTV News Canada