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Wildfire reaches Canada's Jasper National Park

July 25, 2024

Firefighters are working to protect an oil pipeline in the Jasper National Park as a wildfire reached the area. Locals and tourists have already been evacuated from the region.

https://p.dw.com/p/4ihlA
An aerial photo shows wildfire smoke rising over Jasper National Park on Jul 23, 2024.
Jasper is facing wildfires from the north and southImage: Alberta Wildfire/Anadolu/picture alliance

A wildfire reached the Canadian town of Jasper on Wednesday, as efforts were underway to protect key facilities like the Trans Mountain Pipeline, authorities said.

Jasper is facing fires from the north as well as the south.

"Structural firefighters continue to work to save as many structures as possible and to protect critical infrastructure. Many more structural firefighters are en route to provide assistance," Jasper National Parks said in a post on Facebook. The park reported "significant loss" but said it was still unable to gauge the extent of the damage.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said they are "mobilizing every necessary resource available."

"We're deploying Canadian Armed Forces resources, evacuations support, and more emergency wildfire resources to the province immediately - and we're coordinating firefighting and airlift assistance. Alberta, we're with you," he said.

The Trans Mountain pipeline runs from Edmonton to Vancouver through the Jasper National Park, the largest one in the Canadian Rockies. A UNESCO world heritage site since 1984, the park draws more than two million visitors a year.

Efforts to reroute fire fail

Efforts to reroute the fire failed as the wildfire perimeters changed at the last minute due to "unfavorable conditions." About 25,000 were evacuated from the region on Tuesday. 

"At this point I can't confirm how many, locations or specific structures. The fire continues to burn," Parks Canada spokesman James Eastham told reporters.

Hundreds of fires have been raging through parts of Canada in the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. More than a dozen fires burned in the oil sands hub of Fort McMurray.

On Monday night, locals and tourists were also evacuated from the Jasper town and park. 

Deteriorating air quality due to the fires forced firefighters and others to evacuate to the town of Hinton, which lies about 100 kilometers (62 miles) away from the park.

Officials said they are expecting rainfall overnight, which will bring some relief. 

Wildfires have been common in the US and Canada in recent years. A record number of wildfires in 2023 forced more than 235,000 people across Canada to evacuate and sent thick smoke into parts of the US.

Wildfires across US trigger 'heat dome' phenomenon

tg/rmt (AP, Reuters)