Alberta Premier Danielle Smith fought back tears Thursday as she sought to console Jasper residents coming to terms with a community devastated by wildfire.
“The feelings of loss and fear and loneliness must be overwhelming,” Smith said at a fire update in Edmonton.
“We share the sense of loss with all of those who live in the town, who care for it, and who have helped build it.”
Smith says early reports indicate a third and perhaps up to half of all buildings in the historic Rocky Mountain resort town of Jasper have burned in a wildfire.
“You’ve seen the images as I have,” Smith said Thursday.“We’re seeing potentially 30 to 50 per cent structural damage to give you some idea.
“We don’t know which structures have been damaged and which ones have been destroyed, but that’s going to be a significant rebuild.”
Parks Canada, in a statement, said it will provide details on lost structures when it can accurately and responsibly confirm what burned. But it says crews continue to battle a swift and dynamic fire.
“Jasper National Park received a small amount of rain overnight,” said the statement.
“While the rain helped reduce fire activity slightly, it is not enough to have made a meaningful impact to the overall wildfire situation, which remains out of control.”
Images and video surfacing on social media depict blocks of homes and businesses burned to charred foundations and vehicles torched to the hubcaps.
On the social media platform X, the account for Fairmont’s Jasper Park Lodge said the flames had reached the hotel’s grounds but the extent of damage, if any, was not known.
Alberta was getting fire crews and help from 32 municipalities across the province. The province has asked for help from the Canadian Armed Forces, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed it was on the way.
“Just convened an Incident Response Group meeting on the Alberta wildfires,” Trudeau said in a post on X. “Every federal agency is co-ordinated, sending resources to Jasper, deploying evacuations support to the area, and reinforcing firefighting efforts on the ground.”
Federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan, in a news conference with provincial counterpart Mike Ellis in Edmonton, confirmed all necessary resources would be brought to bear on the fire.
“Given the intensity of the fire, every request (for aid) was approved,” Sajjan said.
Back in Jasper, crews worked to preserve critical infrastructure like the wastewater treatment plant and the Trans Mountain pipeline.
Telus reported some landline and cellphone services were down due to wildfire damage.
The company said it was securing helicopters to get cell towers operating, with the priority on restoring voice calls, including those to 911 and emergency services.
The firefighting staging area was the town of Hinton, on the eastern outskirts of Jasper National Park.
In Hinton Thursday, rain fell and wood smoke hung in the air at the roadblock preventing vehicles from entering the park. Officials in bright neon yellow vests directed traffic.
Crews lost the fight to save Jasper Wednesday just after 6 p.m., as waves of orange and red breached the southern outskirts and began devouring homes and livelihoods.
Frantic efforts to contain the fires — including buckets and fire guards and a last-ditch effort to burn a path from the southern fire to the river and highway — were foiled by high winds.
“That wind gust moved that fire five kilometres in probably less than 30 minutes, with a wall of fire that was about 100 metres high,” Ellis said.
“There is little to nothing you can do when you have a wall of flames coming at you like that.”
Pierre Martel, who oversees fire management with Parks Canada, echoed Ellis.
“There are no tools we have in our tool box to deal with that,” Martel told an online news conference.
“It’s just a monster at that point.”
Telus Corp. confirmed Thursday that some of its infrastructure in the Jasper area was damaged Wednesday in the blaze.
A Telus spokeswoman said some home phone and mobility services in the area are down, and technicians are working hard to restore service.
Priority is being given to restoring the ability to make voice calls, including those to 911, emergency services and hospital communication, said spokeswoman Brandi Merker in an email.
She said the company is securing helicopters to refuel critical cell tower sites and has also brought in backup generators to ensure the company can maintain wireless coverage for first responders.
“We know this is a difficult time and we are doing all we can to support our customers and team members who have been impacted, including supplying resources to the evacuation centre in Hinton, Alberta,” Merker said.
Telus said Thursday it is committing $100,000 to support rebuilding efforts in Jasper.
Canadian National Railway Co., whose main line runs through Jasper, suspended operations in the area Wednesday afternoon as conditions worsened.
CN first suspended rail service through Jasper on Tuesday but restarted it briefly Wednesday before shutting it down again a few hours later.
“Early reports indicate the wildfires caused significant damage to the town. We stand in support and solidarity with the community, home to many of our CN team members and their families,” said CN spokeswoman Ashley Michnowski in an email.
Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland, in an open letter to residents, urged them to stay strong.
“I write to you today with profound sorrow as we begin to come to terms with the devastating impact of last night’s wildfire that has ravaged our beloved community,” Ireland wrote.
“The destruction and loss that many of you are facing and feeling is beyond description and comprehension.
“Your resilience and strength have always been the backbone of our community. In the coming days and weeks, we will rally together, support one another, and begin the daunting process of recovery.”
About 25,000 people, including about 5,000 residents in the Jasper townsite, were forced to flee west at a moment’s notice late Monday night as twin wildfires from the south and north roared up and cut off access to the east and south.
A day later they were directed to loop back to Alberta as British Columbia, dealing with its own fires, did not have the capacity to assist.
On Wednesday, efforts to contain the fires — include buckets and fire guards and a last-ditch effort to burn a path from the southern fire to the river and highway — were foiled by raging, gusting winds.
Around 6 p.m. Wednesday, the fire roared in and began torching structures.
Jasper, a postcard-perfect mountain town, is famous for hiking, skiing, kayaking and biking. It is also home to dozens of species such as elk, mountain goats, cougars, lynx, black bears and grizzly bears. The United Nations designated the parks that make up the Canadian Rockies, including Jasper, a World Heritage Site in 1984.
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