The massive wildfire south of Jasper has gotten larger and closer to town after aggressive fire behaviour throughout the day and night Tuesday.
The south wildfire grew to 10,800 hectares and is eight kilometres from Jasper — four km closer than it was the day before. It’s also 2.5 km from the Valley of the Five, a popular hiking trail in Jasper National Park.
The north wildfire remains at 270 hectares and is five km from the town.
“We are seeing fire progression,” said Parks Canada incident commander Katie Ellsworth.
Parks Canada is expecting increased fire behaviour on all flanks of both fires on Wednesday due to continued high and gusty winds — 20 km and more — as well as the general “exceptional dryness” of the area.
“We are still expecting some strong winds to come in,” Ellsworth said.
Rain is in the forecast but isn’t expected to hit until the evening and into Thursday, and there won’t be enough of it to control the wildfire, Parks Canada says.
An estimated 25,000 people — residents, workers and visitors — were forced to evacuate Jasper on Monday night into Tuesday morning. Officials are unable to provide a timeline on when the evacuation order might end, or when residents may be able to return temporarily to recover some belongings.
“It is not safe for you to return to town,” Ellsworth said.
“We do ask for your patience.”
Parks Canada says 245 people on backcountry trails have been evacuated, with more evacuations happening Wednesday. The national park agency could not identify how many people were still remaining on backcountry trails; anyone with reservations for the area are being contacted.
There has been some structure loss along Highway 16 and Icefields Parkway, though Parks Canada could not say what was impacted because fire crews cannot get close enough to provide accurate assessments.
Ellsworth says there could be campgrounds, picnic areas, washroom facilities or power lines in the impacted area.
