Alberta Gov’t Announces Bus Tours for Residents, as Crews Continue to Battle Wildfire in Jasper National Park

Demolished structures in downtown Jasper, Alta., on July 26, 2024. A wildfire destroyed over 300 of the town's approximately 1,100 structures, mainly impacting residential areas. (The Canadian Press/Amber Bracken)

Crews in Jasper are clearing away debris in the town as the wildfire continues to flare up, all while the province announces plans to provide bus tours for residents to return and view the damage.

A wildfire that hit the town on July 24 destroyed about 30 percent of the buildings, including many homes. Firefighters were able to save essential infrastructure, including the hospital, emergency services building, elementary and high schools, activity centre, and the wastewater treatment plant.

National Fire Management Officer with Parks Canada Dean MacDonald said crews had been holding the fire back, but anticipated it would spread on Aug. 2, which it did.

“We predicted that we'd see some increased fire behaviour, [that] we might see fire moving on the surface into the crowns and even building into a larger crowns fire,” he said during a media briefing on Aug. 3. “We did see that in the afternoon.”

The spread of the fire closed down Highway 16, the main route through Jasper National Park, for a couple of hours that evening starting around 5:30 p.m. local time, according to Parks Canada’s website. The highway was re-opened for commercial traffic around 8 p.m. local time.

“Operations protection-wise was set up to the point where it started and was quickly extinguished by the suppression efforts,” MacDonald said. “Everything according to plan, everything according to forecast, and so that’s what we saw yesterday.”

For the town itself, Jasper’s fire chief said they are focusing on clearing away debris, and getting the water system up and running.

“Our Public Works staff being pretty proactive and debris management around the town,” Mathew Conte said during the briefing. “They’ve been moving debris from some of the damaged structures and kind of getting rid of that and disposing it properly at the landfills. “

Conte said that utility crews had been checking the hydrant system and water pressure to the town.

“The system is back up and running and fully pressurized all the homes and businesses to the north end of the firebreak. Sampling has been done on the water and has been sent away to the province for testing,” he said.

Teams have also been working on getting critical municipal buildings ready, Conte said.

“So far we have no reported damage to any of those buildings. We do have occupational hygienists coming in next week to prepare those buildings and make sure that they’re clean and air quality is consistent and acceptable to re-enter those buildings as well.”

Conte said that crews in town had been removing damaged trees, and putting up fencing around damaged structures for safety.

Bus Tours

The province has announced that it will be offering bus tours for residents who want to see the damage to the town. Residents need to register online to be part of the tours. Priority will be given to those whose homes have been destroyed or damaged by the wildfire.

“We appreciate everyone’s desire to return to Jasper and see the state of their homes and community for themselves,” Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis said.

“Being able to return back home to survey damage is the first step to recovery and rebuilding. That is why Alberta’s government made these tours a top priority for evacuees.”

Bus tours will be held when it is safe to do so, the government said. No one will be allowed to leave the bus while inside the park.

The province has also arranged for mental health and social support services representatives to be present to help those going to the disaster site.