One of two raging wildfires menacing the town of Jasper in the Canadian Rockies' largest national park has roared into town and begun burning buildings. Park officials say the fire entered the southern edge of the community Wednesday evening, and crews are battling multiple structural fires and working to protect key infrastructure. Officials say forest firefighters and others without self-contained breathing apparatuses have been told to evacuate to the nearby town of Hinton, with structural firefighters staying behind, the AP reports. Parks Canada spokesman James Eastham told reporters outside Jasper that the town is filled with smoke and there "has been structural loss."
"At this point I can't confirm how many, locations, or specific structures. The fire continues to burn," he said. Parks Canada said firefighters are working to save "as many structures as possible and to protect critical infrastructure, including the wastewater treatment plant, communications facilities, the Trans Mountain Pipeline, and others." A few hours earlier, many first responders were ordered out of Jasper National Park for their safety. Jasper is being menaced by fires from the north and south. The town's 5,000 residents—along with 20,000 more park visitors—fled on short notice late Monday night when the fires flared up.
Jasper National Park is considered a national treasure. Park rangers in helicopters scoured the park earlier Wednesday, looking for stragglers. Parks Canada incident commander Katie Ellsworth says crews are flying low over trails to airlift stranded hikers to safety, the CBC reports. Alberta has been baking under scorching temperatures that have already forced another 7,500 people out of remote communities. Around 177 wildfires are burning across the province. (More Canada stories.)
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