By Canadian Press

Wildfire near Jasper National Park prompts evacuation order and highway closures

Jul 22, 2024 | 10:24 PM

A wildfire in Alberta is forcing a well-known mountain community to evacuate.

An evacuation order has been issued for the town of Jasper, with residents being advised to head west on Highway 16 to British Columbia. Highway 16 has also been closed for westbound travel at the Jasper Park gates, on the east side.

Eastbound access to Jasper will also be blocked, and Highway 93 along the Athabasca River is also closed.

Parks Canada said earlier Monday evening that its fire crews and the Jasper Fire Department were responding to a wildfire around the town’s transfer station, located approximately nine kilometres northeast of the Jasper townsite.

An Alberta Emergency Alert that was issued at 10:18 p.m. stated the fire was expected to reach the community in five hours, and that everyone in the town and park needed to leave.

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RCMP are advising that travel is not recommended west of Hinton, Alta.

“Please avoid the Jasper National Park area along Highway 16 and allow First Responders to do their jobs safely,” RCMP said in a news release.

All people evacuating the area are being encouraged to slow down and use their headlights, as smoke and ash may reduce visibility.

Parks Canada said in an earlier Facebook post that evacuations had already taken place at numerous campgrounds, as well as the Athabasca Hostel and the Palisades Stewardship and Education Centre.

“Parks Canada is responding to multiple wildfire starts. This is an evolving and dynamic situation,” the agency said in the post.

About 7,500 people in Alberta were under evacuation orders Monday.

The three communities that make up Little Red River Cree Nation — John D’Or Prairie, Fox Lake and Garden River — remain under evacuation order as the out-of-control Semo Wildfire Complex burns nearby. It’s estimated to be more than 960 square kilometres in size.

“The next 48 hours is pretty critical,” Chief Conroy Sewepagaham said in a video update on Facebook.

“The dozer groups are going to be working 24-7. They’re going to do whatever they can to extend Highway 58 towards High Level, and extending the northern portion of the highway going into Garden River.”

Alberta Wildfire said the nearby blaze had reached Highway 58, the only road out of Garden River, and was 13 kilometres northwest of the community itself as of Monday afternoon.

Residents of the northern communities of Chipewyan Lake and Janvier 194 have also been ordered to leave.

More than 160 wildfires are burning across Alberta. They have been coughing up clouds of smoke that are obscuring the sky and are hazardous to health.

However, there’s so much smoke that wildfires are being shaded from the sun and daytime temperature highs in some areas are cooler than forecast, leading to reduced fire activity.

“When smoke clears, we can expect to see increased and significant fire behaviour due to anticipated continuing hot, dry weather,” Alberta Wildfire said in an update Monday.

Environment Canada said cooler temperatures were expected to start moving into northwestern parts of the province starting Monday night, though hot conditions may persist through much of the week farther south.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2024.

— By Rob Drinkwater and Curtis Ng in Edmonton

The Canadian Press