There is still no timeline for residents of the Town of Jasper to re-enter the community, but Highway 16 (Yellowhead) could be reopened to commercial traffic by Friday.
“We are optimistic that it will be open within the next 24 hours,” said Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis.
In Alberta Wildfire’s daily update on Wednesday, Ellis said the government is firming up re-entry criteria, but couldn’t provide a timeline for when residents would be allowed back in. The Jasper Wildfire Complex remains out of control, but crews continue to work diligently to restore services, including water and power to the Town of Jasper, which Ellis said is part of the criteria for re-entry.
Recent estimates show the wildfire is more than 32,000 hectares in size, but Parks Canada said more than 750 personnel from federal, provincial, and municipal agencies are responding to the fire.
Ellis said details are also inbound for campers and trailers that were left by evacuees.
“I understand many people were forced to leave their campers and their trailers in the National Park. A plan will be in place within the next 24 to 48 hours for these people. Parks Canada and the Municipality of Jasper are working to get more information out as soon as possible,” said Ellis.
He said the unified command continues to work on ways to bring residents into the townsite, but have not confirmed any plans yet. They are considering a bus tour, but he couldn’t say when or how that plan might happen, or whether residents would be allowed off the bus.
However, as a key economic corridor, Ellis said he, Premier Smith, members of their cabinet and federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan all acknowledged the importance of reopening Highway 16 to commercial traffic.
“There’s a lot of planning that goes into this. Because really, quite frankly, we’re still at a crisis point when it comes to the national park of Jasper.”
He said part of the planning process is deciphering exactly where the fires are in relation to the road, and ensuring that in an emergency situation, the trucks would have the option of turning around or evacuating safely.
Ellis said the government is prioritizing commercial traffic because Jasper National Park has several off-chutes from the highway that Parks Canada plans to block with concrete barriers to prevent personal vehicles from using them. Once the side roads are blocked and commercial traffic can flow through safely, Ellis said then planners will move to examining the viability of allowing personal vehicles through.
On a separate note, Marmot Basin Ski Resort confirmed on Wednesday it would be reopening for the 2024/25 season.
“Marmot Basin was exceptionally lucky to escape the Jasper Wildfire Complex with no damage to any facilities, including buildings and ski lifts,” it said in a release.
Alberta Wildfire said as of Wednesday afternoon, there were 114 wildfires burning in forest protection areas across the province, 20 of which were out of control with 45 being held and 48 under control. The organization said so far this year, the province has had 1,000 wildfires, nearly half of which started in July, burning more than 560,000 hectares.
In Jasper, Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen said crews are already seeing “heightened activity” from the warm, dry, windy weather.
“To mitigate the impacts of this more extreme activity, Parks Canada is reporting the firefighters are considering options to strategically remove forest fuels which will help contain the wildfire within natural, pre-existing and constructed fuel breaks,” said Loewen.