"Significant loss' after fire reaches Jasper" Premier Canadian tourist destination, and one of the world's most beautiful parks, significantly damaged

[giallo]

Well, this is a major bummer. The natural environment will take generations to recover.

Wildfire live updates: 'Significant loss' after fire reaches Jasper | Calgary evacuation centre reopens

Officials say they can't yet report on the extent of damage to the townsite

Author of the article:
Newsroom Staff
Published Jul 25, 2024


Jasper mayor Richard Ireland has spoken out about the impact of the wildfires that have devastated the town, describing the fires as having ravaged the community.

The park's social media account says the fire has caused significant loss within the townsite, but the specific locations or neighbourhoods affected are not being reported.

On the social media platform X, the account for Fairmont's Jasper Park Lodge says the flames have reached the hotel's grounds, but the extent of damage, if any, is not yet known.

The full article here:

Wildfire live updates: 'Significant loss' after fire reaches Jasper | Calgary evacuation centre reopens

As Jasper National Park says wildfire causes significant loss within the Jasper townsite, Ottawa approves Alberta's request for aid.

calgaryherald.com

Twitter video of what's left of the town of Jasper

x.com

x.com

 

[Tan]

Holy shit I vacationed there. Beautiful place and wonderful people. I'm crushed

 

[345]

this is devastating. i was there just a year ago and it's the most beautiful place i've ever seen.

 

[Morrigan]

I wanted to go one day. 😭 I guess it won't ever be the same huh?

 

[Khanimus]

Jasper was a beautiful spot. It's hard to see it like this.

 

[Gr8one]

It's just devastating. I'm devastated. Jasper always felt for the people where Banff was always more of a tourist place. We used to go there a few times a year, summer and winter.

Politicians already pointing blame at each other.

Another lovely summer up here.

 

[Adder7806]

Jasper is such a beautiful place. Just horrible.

 

[Machine Law]

What a shame, I was there last July.

 

[Divvy]

Next to Banff, Jasper (pop 4500) is one of the major destinations for people visting the Canadian rockies and yesterday a wildfire ripped through it destroying most of the city

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/jasper-wildfire-alberta-1.7273606

Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland choked up Wednesday night, reflecting on how an evacuation order issued days ago may have saved thousands of lives, while an out-of-control wildfire burned his community.

A wildfire had threatened the Alberta mountainside townsite for days from the south, but finally reached it in the evening.

Ireland knew little more than the rest of the public Wednesday night about the damage toll, as flames consumed multiple buildings, including the Maligne Lodge and at least the grounds of the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge.

"This is simply our community's worst nightmare," Ireland told CBC News.

"People are the heartbeat of every community. The people have been saved and that is significant. We can find a way to rebuild. We can find each other to hug again, because we all got out."

---

Structural firefighters are still in town trying to protect the town about 365 kilometres west of Edmonton. They are trying to protect buildings and critical infrastructure, including the wastewater treatment plant and Trans Mountain Pipeline — among others.

"We got as many resources as we were able to, here, as fast as we could, to respond to this fire," James Eastham, a Parks Canada wildfire information officer, told reporters Wednesday night.

"Unfortunately, given the conditions and given the fire behaviour today, there was nothing that those resources could do to prevent the spread of the fire into the town."

Alberta will be receiving help from the federal government to battle wildfires, Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan said on X, formerly Twitter, Wednesday night. The aid comes after Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis and Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen explained the situation to their federal counterparts.

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Canada wildfires 2024: Town of Jasper faces 'significant loss' of buildings, mayor calls wildfires 'our community's worst nightmare'

Park officials are reporting a "significant loss" in the historic town of Jasper, Alta., after one two out-of-control wildfires raged into the town on Wednesday, consuming homes, businesses and a well-known resort.

ca.news.yahoo.com

https://www.reddit.com/r/jasper/comments/1ebxts4/jasper_is_gone/

View: https://x.com/cspotweet/status/1816493993586553291

I've been to Jasper a few times and it was a gorgeous place of unmatched natural beauty and this is absolutely devastating

 

[Walker_Boh]

This is also a massive fire in Oregon that has closed off I-84 for most of this week. My mom has been trapped there since Monday.

 

[Divvy]

Just noticed another thread was made while i was writing this OP, so this can be closed

 

[SasaBassa]

Climate change is a terrible thing and people /governments need to do more. Captain obvious but sheesh.

 

[Divvy]

This is absolutely devastating

I don't know how they are going to be able to rebuild after this but I hope there's a way

It's a place of unmatched natural beauty

 

[stormthecastle]

My family and I were there just three weeks ago, right before the heatwave and wildfires started. Always such a beautiful place to visit while camping in the region.

 

[Moppeh]

Holy shit. :(

One of the most beautiful parts of the country is destroyed. I'm very fortunate to have seen it a few times.

 

[Wrexis]

I've been to Banff years ago, this is terrible to see :/

 

[thecowboypoet]

Growing up in interior BC, we went to Jasper almost every year. I honeymooned there with my wife. When we got our dogs we'd go camping with them at Whistlers Campground. I have so many great memories of that town and the area, it's my favourite spot in Canada. Absolutely devastating. The buildings can be rebuilt but I worry how much of the park has been destroyed. It'll be years till the forests grow back.

 

[Landy828]

Awful.

Something that always blows my mind when stuff like this happens, is the random trees that seem to be untouched in the middle of everything.

 

[coldsagging]

Awful.

 

[stormthecastle]

My family was there just a couple weeks ago, right before the heatwave started that really kicked wildfire season into high gear. There were already so many tourists visiting. I can't imagine the stress of evacuating.

Always such a joy to visit while camping.

Last year's wildfire season was horrible and I naively believed we'd get some relief this year.

 

[Huey]

Honestly heart breaking. We go to the fairmont Jasper park lodge once or twice a year - one of my favorite places on earth. I'm so devastated for all the wonderful people affected by this, I need to help.

 

[FrsDvl]

Very sad. My wife and I visit at least twice a year.

On Tuesday I spent a lot of my day speaking to people from Jasper that were evacuated. A lot of them were in good spirits, thinking they'd be going home soon. people concerned about their pets they had to leave behind. It really made all of this so much harder to swallow.

At this point we can only hope that the damage is less severe than expected, but watching that video I fear for the worst.

 

[Titantodd]

Oh. Oh no. What a horrible thing to happen to such a beautiful place. I lived in Alberta for a while when I was younger, and Jasper/Banff National park and that entire area of the Canadian Rockies is still the prettiest place on Earth I've seen in person. This is heartbreaking.

 

[Tuck]

Breaks my heart. It's an incredible place.

 

[SixPointEight]

Absolutely devastating for those whose lives and livelihoods have been destroyed. The time for climate action is now.

 

[Falchion]

Such a beautiful area I want to visit. Really sad to see such devastation.

 

[Becks']

I always wanted to visit it, what an awful situation.

Maybe Albertan government will finally do something regarding wildfires instead of gutting firefighting programs.

 

[orochi91]

WE WE'RE BOOKING HOTELS/FLIGHTS JUST LAST WEEK FOR JASPER

I have so many phone calls to make now, FML

Generational loss is devastating, I can't even imagine how those townsfolks will recover from this.

 

[giallo]

To make matters worse, there's a very concerning fire burning in Banff National Park right now. I can't even think of losing the two most important Rocky Mountain towns/National Parks in a single season.

Summers in Canada are no fun anymore. Every year, it gets worse and worse.

 

[Divvy]

To make matters worse, there's a very concerning fire burning in Banff National Park right now. I can't even think of losing the two most important Rocky Mountain towns/National Parks in a single season.

Summers in Canada are no fun anymore. Every year, it gets worse and worse.

Click to shrink...

I can't imagine losing both parks. That is such a nightmare to even consider

 

[Ashhong]

My parents had literally just arrived in Jasper a couple of days ago before they were evacuated for this. Sad to hear of how much damage it's caused

 

[345]

Very sad. My wife and I visit at least twice a year.

On Tuesday I spent a lot of my day speaking to people from Jasper that were evacuated. A lot of them were in good spirits, thinking they'd be going home soon. people concerned about their pets they had to leave behind. It really made all of this so much harder to swallow.

At this point we can only hope that the damage is less severe than expected, but watching that video I fear for the worst.

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jesus.

no words for this situation really, it's just devastating.

 

[Laephis]

Fuck everything about this.

We don't need any more reasons to just stop oil.

 

[Divvy]

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I have no idea how to embed instagram stories, but it looks like part of the town is safe

I THINK? this is a satellite view of the section of the town that was destroyed?

 

[giallo]

This is the church in the middle of Jasper. One has to imagine how much of the central town is left standing.

 

[Keyouta]

Absolutely terrible, my heart goes out to the people from there. Alberta's been hit pretty hard with wildfires and smoke these past 5/10 years.

 

[Huey]

This is the church in the middle of Jasper. One has to imagine how much of the central town is left standing.

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Seems to be a few posts on reddit - some who reference conversations with emergency responders - saying that the town is not entirely lost and that up to 70% of it is standing. Might line up with the satellite image above... but hard to get any reliable information right now. I think we'll just have to wait for firm info.

 

[mr_nexus]

I worked at the Whistlers Inn for a short while when I was 18. Jasper was a gorgeous little town, very sad news.

 

[StevieP]

As someone who's visited and loved Jasper multiple times (seriously - if y'all ever do a Banff run, drive up the Icefields and see how different and amazing Jasper is in comparison) I just lost my shit for a good 20 minutes looking at the pictures and videos - like first sadness, then anger. What the actual fuck are we all doing as a society here? "Axe the tax" my ass

 

[DazzlerIE]

This is heartbreaking. It's the most beautiful place I've ever been in my life. It's the postcard image of Canada people have in their head.

Thinking of all the people who have lost their homes. The impact on local wildlife is unimaginable

 

[BarcaTheGreat]

I went there two years ago. Only vacation spot in the whole world where I really wanted to go back again soon. Man I wonder how much of the wildlife parished too. God this is devastating.

 

[Zan]

Devestating.

Knock on wood though, I wonder how the bigger cities will respond if a wildfire hits them. It feels like it'll get much worse before it gets better in general.

 

[BennyWhatever]

I was literally just there in June. Ran the Banff half marathon then went up to Jasper for a few days. This is super tragic to see all the places we went up in flames.

 

[giallo]

The Albertan premier getting pretty emotional talking about Jasper. Clearly, a very special place for locals and Albertans alike.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbKCKSm51KI

 

[bremon]

Summers in Canada are no fun anymore. Every year, it gets worse and worse.

Click to shrink...

This really is the state of things. It's either flash flooding and humidity out the ass or bone dry and burning.

I did construction work on a number of houses there a few years back. It's a special place to me and my wife. Teared up a few times today getting updates about it.

 

[alexlf]

It's hard to state how bad summers in BC and Alberta have become. The number if smoke hours, that is, hours of the day where the air is dangerous to breath because of the pollutants from fire smoke, has increased by almost two orders of magnitude on average. Weeks straight where the government is advising people not to go outside. There are hundreds of unending fires, and the evacuation of smaller communities is becoming a regular occurrence. And all this off the back of record breaking heatwaves, where homes are hitting 37C+, but residents are unable to even open the windows due to the severe danger from polluted air.

That video of the Alberta premier up above is extra vexing because she was recently on a podcast with Jordon Peterson where they talked about how all this is fine. Smith (and other politicians) are full steam ahead with oil production and cutting back on green energy. Her entire platform is what's causing this, and she has no intention of changing. Then she has the gall to act all emotional when what she sowed is reaped. And people will fall for it. Feels hopeless man.

 

[Gunny T Highway]

To make matters worse, there's a very concerning fire burning in Banff National Park right now. I can't even think of losing the two most important Rocky Mountain towns/National Parks in a single season.

Summers in Canada are no fun anymore. Every year, it gets worse and worse.

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Yeah summers here in Southern Alberta have become extreme constant heat then smoke. Heck yesterday it got to 38°C. Thank God I have AC because if I had no AC and I could not open my windows because of the smoke I would lose my mind.

 

[Huey]

That video of the Alberta premier up above is extra vexing because she was recently on a podcast with Jordon Peterson where they talked about how all this is fine. Smith (and other politicians) are full steam ahead with oil production and cutting back on green energy. Her entire platform is what's causing this, and she has no intention of changing. Then she has the gall to act all emotional when what she sowed is reaped. And people will fall for it. Feels hopeless man.

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She's an amoral political opportunist who knows this can and should fall on her head for her cutting wildfire management funding and being a climate change denier. These are fucking crocodile tears if ever they were any, and I really hope people aren't fooled.

 

[Kyuur]

Terrible situation, especially for the folks who live and work there. We go at least once a year typically and were planning a trip 2 weeks from now.

 

[AlphaTwo]

I always wanted to visit it, what an awful situation.

Maybe Albertan government will finally do something regarding wildfires instead of gutting firefighting programs.

Click to shrink...

alberta and oil/wildfire will be like us gun control, there will never be the right time to talk about climate change, only thoughts and prayers.