WATCH ABOVE: Much-needed rain fell in Jasper National Park overnight, helping stall the growth of the wildfire. Lisa Wolansky has the latest.
EDMONTON — Dan Taylor was fishing on Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park Thursday afternoon when he was approached by parks officials telling him it was time to go.
“Around 4:30 in the afternoon I was approached by one of the tour boats and was instructed to go back to the dock,” said the Edmonton man, who was just in the area for the day.
“I was greeted by the warden who told me to grab my belongings out of my boat, leave my boat in the water and leave now.”
The evacuation of the Maligne Valley was underway as a nearby wildfire quickly began to spread. The wildfire north of Medicine Lake near Excelsior Creek was reported to Parks Canada around 3:30 p.m. Thursday. It was started by a strike of lightning.
“When I was on the water… it was like a huge plume of cloud; like cloud after cloud. It was just an amazing sight,” said Taylor.
“I looked down the lake and I could see the inferno at the end of Medicine Lake.”
At that point the fire was about 250 hectares in size. By Friday, Parks Canada officials said it had grown to 5,000 hectares.
Late Saturday, Parks Canada fire crews were able to map the Excelsior Wildfire and determined it was 1,000 hectares in size.
READ MORE: Wildfire at Jasper National Park being held at 5,000 hectares
After making his way off the lake, Taylor said he and several others in the area were moved down to an evacuation point. But the fire jumped directions, forcing the group back up to the lake. Two helicopters were brought in and took upwards of 50 people out of the area by air.
Taylor and about 40 others waited near the lake for a few hours and were led out in their vehicles in a convoy.
“They took us through 10 cars at a time and helicopter escort, as well. The helicopter flew ahead to make sure there were no surprises for the people driving through,” he explained from Edmonton Saturday afternoon.
“It was probably one of the most surreal moments of my life,” he said. “When we got up to where the burn was and the smoke, it was burning on both sides of the road and there was rock slides create from the fire itself. It was quite a day.”
Taylor said the evacuation process went very smoothly.
Saturday afternoon Kim Weir, a fire communications officer with Jasper National Park, said the fire was holding steady at about 5,000 hectares. The area received some much-needed rain overnight, which will allow fire crews to attack the fire from the ground for the first time.
“This contributed to help slow fire behaviour,” Weir said. “This will now provide us the opportunity to attack the fire directly … (and) safely work on priority areas of the fire.”
“This is a huge shift for us. This is fantastic.”
WATCH: Timelapse of the Jasper Park fire courtesy Jeff Lewis Photography
Weir does not expect much fire growth over the next few days. As of early Saturday afternoon, three Parks Canada fire crews supported by six helicopters were fighting the wildfire, which was still classified as out-of-control.
Two 20-person fire crews are on their way to Alberta from Ontario to help in the battle. One of the crews is expected to arrive Saturday, with the other arriving on Sunday. Previously Parks Canada had said the crews were coming from Manitoba; however, Weir said Saturday those crews were from Ontario.
A fire ban remained in place for all Mountain National Parks in Alberta, including Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Kootenay, Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks.
A total of 1,000 people were forced to evacuate the Maligne Valley area Thursday and Friday, most of which were day users. Parks Canada said about 82 of those people were taken out of the immediately affected areas – the Skyline Trail, Maligne Valley backcountry campground and Jacques Lake area.
No facilities in the Maligne Valley area were at risk on Saturday. Weir said Jasper National Park remains open to the public, apart from the Maligne Valley.
Taylor is just happy he got out when he did.
“There was a bit of uncertainty as to our departure date and how and when we were going to get out of here,” he said. “It was something, I tell ya.”
As of Saturday, there were 109 wildfires burning in Alberta, 26 of which were classified as out of control.
For up-to-date information on the wildfire status in Alberta, visit the Government of Alberta’s website.
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