Three weeks since a wildfire forced a mass evacuation of Jasper National Park, thousands of people forced from their homes will learn today when they can safely return home.
Officials with Parks Canada and the municipality will hold a news conference Monday to provide details on the phased re-entry as crews make critical gains in containing the forest fire that devastated the historic townsite.
Members of the unified command — made up of Parks Canada and municipal officials — are expected to release the date for re-entry during the briefing at 10 a.m. MT. You can watch it here live.
In a statement Monday, Parks Canada officials said firefighters have made significant progress in protecting the town of Jasper and surrounding infrastructure.
The northwest end of the fire — the portion of the blaze that poses the greatest threat to the community — is now considered 99 per cent contained or controlled, up from 89 per cent contained the day before.
The fire that devastated Jasper is part of a cluster of fires still burning out of control in the national park. It now spans 33,000 hectares, but recent rain and cooler temperatures have helped crews tame the most dangerous parts of the blaze.
“Air and ground operations continue to work together to stop the spread on the north end of the fire, while focusing on the safe return of residents,” the agency said.
Evacuation orders were issued last month as the flames from fires burning to the north and south of Jasper moved dangerously close to the historic townsite.
Within hours, 20,000 visitors and 5,000 town residents were forced out of the national park.
Less than 48 hours later, the flames from the south fire moved in, eventually merging with the northern fire, incinerating entire neighbourhoods.
Highway 16 through Jasper National Park has reopened to the public for limited hours each day. CBC’s Travis McEwan takes us on a drive to see what you can expect journeying through the Rocky Mountains after the wildfire.
About one-third of the buildings in the townsite — 358 of 1,113 total structures — were destroyed. While entire streets were razed, buildings housing key infrastructure including the hospital and water treatment plant, were saved.
On Saturday, Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland said the work of the fire incident management team meant plans to re-enter the town safely were moving faster than expected. He said he hopes an announcement would “provide a bridge and some measure of comfort to those so fraught with anxiety.”
In a statement Sunday, Parks Canada said returning evacuees will need to be as self-sufficient as possible, given retail and fuel services could be limited.
Work in reconnecting essential services to gas, water and electricity progresses, restoration of residential services could take up to three weeks or more, Parks Canada said.
Information sessions are being organized to help residents navigate some of the logistical challenges of re-entry, following their return, the agency said.
Longtime Jasper resident Stephen Nelson captured this video during a bus tour through the devastated historic townsite. The tours are being offered to residents as plans for re-entry ramp up and the fight against the wildfire continues.
Officials have cautioned that a return to the community will ultimately hinge on the activity of the wildfire, which remains volatile.
According to the municipality’s re-entry criteria, Parks Canada must confirm the wildfire is no longer an imminent threat to the townsite
Crews must also remove dangerous debris from the townsite, including scorched trees or unstable wreckage of burned buildings, as well as restore critical and emergency services, including essential retail services such as gas and grocery stores.
Fire officials have said the fire will continue to burn for months and officials expect to be fighting the flames well into the fall season.