Video showing intact neighbourhoods offers measure of relief
One of the first videos to be shared showed an entire neighbourhood flattened by flames.
But by Thursday afternoon, an uncredited video surfaced on social media showing a series of residential homes and commercial buildings still intact after a wildfire breached town limits on Wednesday.
(Editor’s note: video below contains foul language.)
The video, recorded from the passenger seat of a moving vehicle, shows homes, hotels and other businesses along Connaught Drive untouched by flames. The sky was gloomy with a mix of cloud and smoke, while the pavement was wet with rain.
“Suburbia stands,” declares an unidentified voice at the start of the 2½-minute video.
“There’s still a town,” says a second person moments later.
There is audible relief in the video at the sight of a gas station not having been consumed by the wildfire, and later when someone’s home is observed still standing.
Several fire trucks are also seen parked on Jasper’s main street near a hotel, described as a lodging facility for emergency workers who’ve poured into town to repel the flames.
In another moment of relief, the town’s iconic mascot, Jasper the Bear, was seen intact in the background of an interview for a television news program.
“He’s still smiling!” wrote Michelle Sauve on X, the social media network formerly known as Twitter. “Thinking of all those evacuated residents and visitors. And of course, all the bears and other wildlife.”