Rotting food and closed highways a concern as Jasper evacuation nears second week

EDMONTON — Parks Canada says it realizes wildfire evacuees from Jasper worry about what rotting food will do to their homes and that others wonder when a critical highway through the national park will reopen, but it says the blaze continues to burn out of control and remains a threat to the town.

A statement from the federal agency on Sunday said requests have poured in from people asking for help in retrieving important personal items or to remove food, fridges and freezers.

The statement said that while hot spots in the town have been extinguished, resources are tied up in protecting the community from the remaining wildfire risks in the park that surrounds it and the requests cannot be accommodated.

“Rotting food in fridges and freezers without power can unfortunately result in contamination to homes. We’re aware of this, and are working to restore power to as much of the townsite as possible in order to minimize this risk,” Parks Canada said in the statement, released on Sunday.

“This is the largest wildfire recorded in Jasper National Park in the last 100 years, and ensuring that residents and visitors are safe to return will take time.”

The statement also noted incident staff are working on a plan to reopen Highway 16, a critical east-west route that runs through the park and townsite, as well as Icefields Parkway 93N. But it said there is no timeline for that yet.

“We know that many people were forced to leave their belongings, trailers or campers behind in the campgrounds during the evacuation. Doing so was critical in the successful evacuation of Jasper National Park,” the statement said.

The town’s website said 15 pets have been rescued so far, noting last week’s evacuation happened so fast that many residents were unable to return home before fleeing. It said the SPCA in the nearby town of Hinton donated their van, pet food and is providing shelter until the animals can be reunited with their families.

Over 20,000 people in and around the town nestled in the Rocky Mountains four hours west of Edmonton were ordered to evacuate last Monday due to fast-moving wildfires.

Parks Canada has estimated 30 per cent of Jasper township’s structures were damaged, and a map of the town indicating which properties suffered damage was released on Saturday afternoon.

The map is giving residents a better picture of what’s still standing and what isn’t, but a town official has cautioned it’s based only on what can be seen from the street.

Additional information on what’s been damaged outside the town is underway, Parks Canada said, and firefighters are working to protect homes and other accommodations in those outlying areas.

Jasper National Park remains closed and RCMP are ensuring the town is secure, Parks Canada said, noting there are checkpoints to keep people out.

“Patrols are ensuring that no unauthorized access to the community is occurring. Any unauthorized people found in the community will be subject to arrest,” Parks Canada said.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, along with Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland and other dignitaries, toured the evacuated town on Friday, where they passed the charred remains of the home where Ireland himself grew up.

A Parks Canada official said Saturday the fire could burn for months.

Evacuees from Jasper learned Sunday the Alberta and federal governments will provide additional money for relief, with both saying they’ll match donations to the Canadian Red Cross 2024 Alberta Wildfires Appeal.

Federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan and Alberta Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis said in a joint news release that the donation-matching initiative means every $1 donated will become $3 to support people most impacted by wildfires in Jasper and across the province.

It will last for 30 days, retroactive to when the fundraising campaign first opened on Thursday.

Extra help to fight the fires in Jasper and other parts of Alberta has also been arriving. The Canadian military tweeted photos Sunday of soldiers in Hinton, where it said they were undergoing “firefighter refresher training” led by the local fire department.

Forty Quebec forest firefighters also flew to Edmonton on Sunday ahead of a two-week mission in the field. More support from Ontario, Australia , and South Africa was expected to arrive Sunday, the province has said.

Elsewhere in Alberta, the province said Sunday that rain helped firefighters extinguish nearly 50 wildfires in the previous 48 hours, and another 17 wildfires are no longer out of control.

The province said the Municipal District of Bighorn’s evacuation order for the area east of Highway 40 and west of the Ghost Public Land Access Point remains in effect. Evacuation orders for Little Red River Cree Nation, which includes the communities of John D’or Prairie, Fox Lake and Garden River, also remain in effect and the Municipal District of Opportunity’s evacuation order for Chipewyan Lake is still in place.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2024.

The Canadian Press