‘I think everybody probably thought the same thing, that this can’t really be happening to Jasper’
Stephen Nelson was on a bus heading away from his home in Jasper, feeling the despair shared by those around him about the future of the community.
He had packed essentials for five days before rushing out of his senior’s apartment complex.
Now, he was thinking about what he had left behind: a cardigan knit by his mother who had died a few weeks ago, a bible she had bequeathed to him and a blanket knit by his grandmother.
Nelson, who lived in the town for 16 years, fought the urge to rush back to stuff them in his bag. But he expected to return to them; he was told the fire would abate in a few days.
In the past, fires had nicked the forests near the town. Nelson felt luck was always on Jasper’s side — but not this time.
“When I was out for a coffee at my favourite restaurant, ash landed on my eye and smeared my white shirt,” he said of the scene before boarding the bus.
At that moment, he feared the worst for his town. He grabbed his camera and began clicking photos of the cars waiting in line at a gas station, trying to capture what felt like an apocalyptic moment. Then, he received a call from his friend to come home and pack a bag. As he stuffed in his clothes, his phone rang out with the evacuation order.
“It was like a bomb going off in my brain,” he said. “I thought I was being calm, but after the alert, I started to make mistakes.”
When the bus, headed for Valemount, B.C., finally pulled out of the driveway, he said a prayer for the town.
Thousands of evacuees from Jasper have been stranded by a fire that destroyed their homes. Most are temporarily accommodated, with some relying on relief money as they wait for more information, eager to rebuild their town.
‘My mind was blanking’
Lynda Shore’s house in Jasper was her sanctuary.
“Our house was a jungle full of plants, because they just thrived. And, you know, since we retired, we spent even more time there,” said Shore, who is 71 and lived in her bungalow for 28 years. “It was our world.”
Before the fire raced through the community, she and her husband took a swim at Patricia Lake to escape the heat and smoke. On returning home, she had placed a meal for her and her family on the dining table when her phone sounded the alert. She threw her meal in the trash.
Shore, who had worked as a social worker for the town’s municipality, was familiar with the evacuation drills. She believed she was staying calm as she threw her essentials in a bag.
“In hindsight, you know, I look at what I packed, it’s not exactly what I would have brought — I got my ukulele and some clothes,” she said.
“But I didn’t bring my photographs.”
She kept running back from her car to her house to grab what she had forgotten — a toothbrush, a pillow.
“I think everybody probably thought the same thing, that this can’t really be happening to Jasper,” said Shore, who was also headed to Valemount.
Ti Clark, 19, was working her shift at Jasper Sky Tram when she received the first evacuation alert. She helped bring her guests down, after which she rushed home to find her shared unit in chaos, with roommates bolting in and out with cars in the driveway.
“I probably only had 10 seconds to just breathe and realize, like, holy s—, ‘It’s happening.’ ”
She called her mother in Edmonton, her hands trembling. “My mind was blanking.” She grabbed her clothes and enough essentials for two days, and hurried out. She got into a car with one of her housemates and travelled to Valemount.
‘There’s no other place we’d rather live’
Nelson was in the dining room of a hotel in Valemount when he got the news the building he lived in was burned. Shore was in a hotel in Kamloops when she learned her house was destroyed. And Clark was with her friends in Calgary when she found out her staff housing in Jasper was gone.
All three, who are grateful for the help from communities outside Jasper, are coping with the grief in different ways. Nelson remains in Valemount tending to his neighbours, helping with their needs. Shore is spending time with her grandson in Cochrane. And Clark is exploring Calgary with her friends, reliving their moments spent in Jasper.
For now, many are eagerly waiting to know when they can go back.
Clark, whose family lives in Edmonton, wants to rebuild Jasper. “I could drive the three hours and go home, like, right now if I wanted to,” said Clark, whose employer has continued to pay salaries to its staff. “If I went back to Edmonton in my house, I know for a fact I’d be in my room just overthinking it.”
Nelson, who is on AISH, said his landlord might accommodate him and his neighbours in other properties across Alberta, although he is keen on going back.
And Shore, whose house is insured, said she intends to rebuild despite the possibility of another fire.
“There’s no other place we’d rather live than the place we’ve called home for all these years,” said Shore.