Residents and tourists from Jasper, Alta., have arrived in B.C. communities after fleeing the fast-moving wildfire that broke out on Monday evening.
Jasper resident Joe Urie was leading a wildlife tour with six people from England when he saw the fire break out.
“The fire kicks up, I jump out, I call Parks Canada and I was on the scene when Parks arrived,” he told Global News from Valemount, B.C.
“I mean, at that point, it’s been so dry. It was moving quick.”
Urie, who owns and operates Jasper Tour Company, told Global News that the winds were blowing fast and that was moving the fire east toward the community.
“It was only a matter of time,” he said about being forced to leave due to wildfires.
“I mean, 80 per cent of the lodgepole pine forest was killed by the pine beetle. That stuff is not as volatile as the green stuff, which is where you get turpentine from. But it’s super fast to ignite and with this kind of drying, with the kind of winds that we’re having, it not only was inevitable, but you knew it was also inevitable that you might have to go on a moment’s notice.”
Jasper resident Louis Poirier arrived in Valemount with his two dogs and said it took about three hours to get from Jasper to the B.C. community, which normally takes about 1.5 hours.
“I’m really lucky,” he said.
“My wife is a first responder in Jasper, so she was first responding to the fire, and at the same time, she was in contact with us. We knew right away, actually, what was going on.”
Poirier agreed with Urie that it was only a matter of time before they were faced with a wildfire situation.
“We knew it was coming, though, it was inevitable,” he said. “It’s so dry and, it was just a matter of time.”
Mudita Behere was in Jasper with her husband and children, visiting from Michigan.
“I think we were all terrified,” she said.
“I think we just have to keep their spirits up. So we kept on going until we reached to a safer place, and we knew we were safe. Even spending the night in the car, it was tough. And it’s busy everywhere.”
At a news conference about Alberta’s wildfire situation that was held via video call at about 10 a.m. local time on Tuesday, Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis said that of the fires burning in the national park, one of them is located about 12 kilometres south of the Jasper townsite “on both sides of the river.”
“And wind may exacerbate the situation.”
Officials issued an evacuation order at about 10 p.m. local on Monday amid a provincewide heat wave and as parts of Alberta were experiencing windy conditions. The entire park, including the townsite, was included in the evacuation order.
Urie said what happened in Jasper should put all Canadians on alert.
“This is the story not of Jasper, this is a story of Canada,” he said.
“For the last few years, I mean, we’ve been on fire and this is the story of human folly. We’re the ones who made the mess. And this is Mother Nature trying to clean up the mess.”
— with files from Phil Heidenreich