Cooler temperatures and up to 15 millimetres of rain had led to minimal fire activity
The park posted a statement on X late Thursday night saying cooler temperatures and up to 15 millimetres of rain since midnight had led to minimal fire activity.
The park says due to the rainfall, fire behaviour is likely to calm over the next 72 hours.
While more rain is expected Friday, temperatures are supposed to return to the mid 20s by Saturday, which the park says will lead to an increase in fire activity.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has spoken with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith about the wildfire situation in Jasper.
A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office says the leaders spoke about the resources and support being made available to the fire-ravaged town as well as other communities in Alberta being threatened by wildfires.
It says Trudeau and Smith have agreed to stay in regular contact as the situation unfolds.
— The Canadian Press
Critical infrastructure in Jasper remains intact
Parks Canada says crews in the town of Jasper are fighting flames that are jumping from building to building but critical infrastructure has so far been protected.
Parks Canada officials, in an update late Thursday afternoon, said the hospital, the emergency services building, schools, the activity centre and wastewater treatment plant were still standing.
“Structural fire protection units are still fighting fires within the town and continue to deal with fire moving from one building to another,” said the statement.
Officials said business and homes have been lost, with much of the damage on the west side.
“Firefighting efforts have prevented significant damage to much of the infrastructure in the east end of town,” they said.
“Our priority remains protecting structures that have not yet been impacted by fire.”
Bridges in the town and throughout Jasper National Park have also been hit, they said.
Telus reported some landline and cellphone services were down due to wildfire damage.
The owners of the iconic Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, just outside town, confirmed much of the picturesque resort complex survived.
“Though the hotel did incur fire damage, most of the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge structures, including the main lodge, remain intact and standing,” the hotel said in a social media post.
“We are deeply relieved that much of the property was spared and the resort will reopen.”
Parks officials said they were doing the best they could to deliver verified assessments to anxious residents a day after a wildfire whipped by ferocious 100 km/h winds swooped into the southern edge of the townsite and began destroying homes and livelihoods in sheets of orange-red flame.
Meanwhile, the Trans Mountain pipelines was reported to be operating safely, and ATCO Ltd., which provides electric and gas services in the town of Jasper, said it won’t know the extent of the damage to its infrastructure until technicians are able to safely re-enter the community to complete a full assessment.
— The Canadian Press
Varcoe: Jasper business owners vow to build back
Jasper resident and grocery store manager Will Baart had finally laid his head on the pillow in a hotel in the B.C. village of McBride early Tuesday night, after being evacuated from his own community hours before.
A little while later, the phone rang.
Come back, officials with Parks Canada asked.
The manager of TGP, Your Jasper Grocer was asked to return to help provide food to a growing crew of firefighters and emergency personnel toiling mightily to save the mountain town as fires raged in the area.
By Wednesday, less than 30 hours after he had arrived back in Jasper to help make food available for the workers — he was joined by one staff member — the situation outside the town grew ominous as dark smoke crawled closer.
Then, he got another message: It’s time to leave.
Winds fuelled wildfire near Golden: BC Wildfire Service
The BC Wildfire Service says winds fanned by a cold front were to blame for the rapid expansion of an out-of-control fire near Golden, B.C., and it warns of similar fire behaviour even as it brings in rains and cooler weather.
The Town of Golden says the 55 square kilometre Dogtooth Forest Service Road fire destroyed as many as six homes, but assessments are still being done to confirm the damage.
The wildfire service says in its latest update that the storms that are bringing rain may also produce lightning and strong winds that temporarily boost fire behaviour.
While the number of wildfires has dropped with the recent change in weather, there are still more than 400 fires burning in B.C.
An evacuation alert has been rescinded for the Village of Ashcroft, which was under threat by the Shetland Creek fire, the same blaze that destroyed at least six homes in the Venables Valley.
There are close to 60 evacuation alerts and orders across B.C., including in the Cariboo as the 143-square-kilometre Antler Creek fire threatens the nearby communities of Wells and Barkerville.
The community of Silverton remains on an evacuation order as the Aylwin Creek fire burns nearby, closing Highway 6 between New Denver and Slocan with no timeline for reopening.
— The Canadian Press
Wildfire near Water Valley still out of control
The wildfire burning near Water Valley remains out of control.
But the fire, some 83 hectares in size, hadn’t grown significantly in the previous 24 hours, the Municipal District of Bighorn said in a update late Thursday afternoon.
“Alberta Wildfire is actively engaged in fire suppression activity and persons should check the Alberta Wildfire,” the district said.
Those living in the area bounded by Doc Mills Road (RR62A), Whispering Pines Road (TWP 294A), and Burnt Timber Road are under an evacuation alert, meaning they should be ready to leave on one hour’s notice.
The immediate area surrounding the fire, some 100 kilometres northwest of Calgary, is closed.
Wildfire situation near Nelson, B.C., deteriorates
The wildfire situation in the Slocan Valley has gone from bad to worse as a cold front moving through the region brought high winds, fanning the flames and causing significant wildfire growth, a Southeast Fire Centre official stated Thursday night.
In an online media availability session hosted by the Regional District of Central Kootenay on Thursday night, Claire Allen, deputy manager of Wildfire Prevention with the B.C. Wildfire Service, admitted that Wednesday and Thursday were challenging days to cap off a very challenging week in Area H (Slocan Valley) as fire crews lost some ground in the fight to control five major out-of-control wildfires, forcing evacuation orders in several regions and communities such as Silverton, leaving many more under evacuation alert.
A cold front moving through the area brought with it some very sustained and strong wind gusts which challenged firefighting operations, she said.
“And it was responsible for significant growth on all of the wildfires in the area. These winds, as well as dry forest fuel conditions from a sustained drought, as well as sustained temperatures, combined as the main drive behind some of the aggressive growth that we saw,” she said.
The cold front forced the Wildfire Service to change its tactics for the safety of its first responders, with ground crews pulled back to safe areas on many of the fires in the region. Of the 146 new fires detected in the last seven days in the region — arising out of over 1,800 recorded lightning strikes — 79 were classified as out of control, with 23 of those fires no longer in that category due to initial attack success.
However, wherever possible the wildland firefighter crews that were pulled back were replaced with structural protection crews that were able to do their work to protect critical infrastructure, as well as communities in the area, and they worked through the overnight period, Allen added.
— Timothy Schafer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Nelson Daily
— With files from Ricky Leong