Officials involved with the Jasper re-entry say the process has been going well since the townsite welcomed its first residents back on Friday morning.
“Things are going well on the re-entry front. We have lots of our residents back in the community,” said Christine Nadon, incident commander with the Municipality of Jasper.
As of Monday morning, Highway 16 through Jasper National Park is now open 24/7, not just during the day. Drivers are still not allowed to stop on the highway, they must drive straight through the park.
This means the RCMP check stops on either side of town have been dismantled. The officers have been moved into Jasper to do patrols through the townsite.
Work is still underway to be able to fully reopen Highway 93 – the Icefields Parkway – between Banff and Jasper.
“There’s some debris on the highway from the gate that was burned down at the initial part of the highway so that needs to be cleaned up. There’s some other debris on the highway,” said Alan Fehr, field unit superintendent with Jasper National Park.
Over the weekend, more than 800 people visited the re-entry support centre at Commemoration Park, where people can access things like mental health and insurance supports.
The Canadian Red Cross has so far handed out about 1,500 cleaning buckets – a free service for residents also available at the re-entry support centre.
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Nadon said they don’t have a firm number on how many people are permanently living in Jasper again, but added there are some who would be able to stay in their homes.
“If people have potable water and gas for hot water and there’s no significant damage to their property, I think those Jasperites are in their homes.”
Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland said residents returning home have been met with a mix of emotions.
“As they first entered the town … their first emotion was one of relief and gratitude. They were met at the entrance of the town by our local fire department … the RCMP, Parks Canada staff, municipal staff,” he said.
“It was the first time so many of our residents had the opportunity to show appreciation for the very people who made re-entry possible as quickly as they did.”
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Ireland went on to say that the emotions then shifted for some.
“People had, for the first time, an opportunity to confront what was their worst nightmare. They’re going through that element of grief, and you can acknowledge that they’re all at different stages of that.”
Ireland lost his family home to the fire, so he understands what many residents are going through.
“I’m still standing,” he said when asked how he’s doing. “I’m in the same spot as many of my residents.
“I’m not alone. I know so many people have suffered similar, and in some cases, greater losses.”
Officials reiterated that re-entry remains just for residents at this time. There is no timeline yet for when tourists will be welcomed back to the mountain town.
“Re-entry is for residents and business owners currently and the contractors and support services that are helping them. Jasper is still not ready to welcome visitors,” Nadon said.
Officials said tourists seem to be respecting that guideline so far. Nadon added that RCMP are in town talking to people to make sure they are residents.
“If people are just driving around looking like they don’t really belong there, you can expect to be kindly asked to have a chat with an RCMP member and be directed to move on,” she said.
“Now is not the time for visitors to come to Jasper. We’re simply not ready to welcome you.”
Over the weekend, the wildfire status was downgraded from out-of-control to being held. Jasper is expected to receive some rain in the coming days, which will help firefighters access new areas to put out hot spots.
“We’ve been fortunate that the weather over the last number of days has been cool and rainy at times, so we’ve been making really good progress,” Fehr said.
The wildfire is about 33,000 hectares in size.
Jasper National Park was evacuated on July 22 and the fire moved into the town two days later. The wildfire destroyed about a third of the town’s buildings.
For the latest information on which areas in Alberta are under an evacuation alert or order due to a wildfire, visit the Alberta Emergency Alert website.
For the latest information on the wildfire status and danger across the province, visit the Alberta Wildfire website.
The latest information on fire advisories, restrictions and bans across the province can be found on the Alberta fire bans website.
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