Jasper Wildfire Update: Tour of Town Reveals Extent of Damage

A tour of the Jasper townsite has revealed the extent of the damage caused by the wildfire.

On Friday, Premier Danielle Smith, Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland and several other government officials took the first look at the townsite where fire had destroyed many properties.

On the tour, it was confirmed that Mayor Ireland’s home of 67 years was damaged. Ireland described the loss as “shattering.” He said “I see memories of life taken, I see 67 years.” The mayor’s family had moved into the home just before his second birthday.

“Now it’s memories of family and fire. So many other are going to go through this same thing”, he said.

In an update on Facebook, Jasper National Park says the damage within the townsite is estimated at around 30%. “Out of the total of 1113 structures within the town, 358 have been destroyed. However, all critical infrastructure in Jasper were successfully protected including the hospital, the library and the firehall.”

Parks Canada says the crews were “taking advantage of the cooler weather to make progress on containing the remaining hotspots in smoldering structures and along the wildfire perimeter closest to the townsite.”

The Park officials said they are working hard to verify information sought by business and home owners and hope to release it soon.

“We know people are seeing images on media and social media but what we know about fire incidents is getting the information right is paramount”, says the update. “It takes time to get this information correct, we understand your frustrations and we will publicly share more information when we are in a better position to do so.”

“We want to avoid telling people they lost their home when they didn’t, or saying they didn’t lose their home when they did. We are finalizing a list of addresses of damaged structures and intend to release it shortly.”

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