Jasper residents have described the shock and horror of fleeing their homes with a few hours’ notice as a raging wildfire ripped through the national park and townsite in western Alberta this week.
It took less than two days for the fire to reach the town of Jasper, where multiple structures have been burned.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith estimated on Thursday that between 30 and 50 per cent of the townsite may have been lost in the blaze.
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 the nearby village of Valemount in British Columbia.
“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 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.
Jasper resident Ted Turnbull said he had three hours to pack up what he could, grab his dog Oreo and flee from the Alberta mountain town early Tuesday morning.
“I did what I could,” said Turnbull, who lives with a disability and has difficulty walking.
In the scramble to catch the bus that would take him to Calgary, he couldn’t find his two cats, which he was forced to leave behind.
“It was like it was snowing with all the ash falling,” Turnbull recalled tearfully.
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“Unfortunately, my cats had disappeared on me and so with the fire as close as it was and a busload of people waiting on us, we didn’t have time to try and look for them.”
Mel Dressler, who evacuated to Hinton, Alta., on Wednesday night, said it was “very strange” to see the flames in almost every single block in the neighbourhood.
“The last image I saw of the town in my mind was almost every block had at least one house fully engulfed, and that means the neighbouring houses were going next,” he told Global News.
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.”
Mudita Behere was in Jasper with her husband and children, visiting from Michigan.
“I think we were all terrified,” she said.
Volunteer firefighter Kimberley Stark had stayed behind to protect her town.
“It was a tough go. That fire was rolling,” Stark recalled in an interview from Hinton.
“This was big. It was overwhelming.”
With the flames reaching the townsite Wednesday night, Stark had to hopelessly watch her family home burn to the ground.
“It was loud, a lot of popping off of propane tanks and other things.
“It was hot. Too hot. I couldn’t stand in the middle of the street. I ran back to the truck and basically bawled.”
Many families are in limbo and waiting to hear more updates on what is left of the town they call home.
Jessia Worth, who owns a restaurant in Jasper, evacuated to Valemount along with her family. They were forced to live in a tent.
“So much that you’ve worked towards and … you’ve built your life there … the kids, for example, that’s their home, right? So, it really touches home and I don’t think I’ve had time to process it,” Worth said.
“As a parent, you try to hold yourself together … try to make it positive for them and think that’s going to be OK, but I don’t know at this point.”
After a difficult past few days, there might be some relief in sight for Jasper.
The national 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.
— with files from Global News’ Amy Judd, Jasmine King, Caley Gibson, Morgan Black, Joelle Tomlinson and Sarah Offin and The Canadian Press.
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