Canadian Town Jasper Damaged by Fast Moving Wildfire

Huge wildfires have destroyed up to half of the historic town of Jasper in Canada, according to officials. The fires are still out of control as firefighters try to save as many buildings as possible. Many streets in Jasper National Park have been leveled by the fire, with videos showing smoking rubble where homes once stood and burned cars.

While no deaths have been reported, around 20,000 tourists and 5,000 residents have fled the area in Alberta, which has been a popular tourist spot for years. On Thursday, firefighters focus was on containing the towering flames that engulfed the town from two sides.

During a news conference on Thursday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith got emotional as she talked about the damage. She said that possibly 30 to 50 percent of buildings had been destroyed. She called it the worst nightmare for any community and talked about how Jasper National Park has been a source of pride for many generations.

Pierre Martel, director of the national fire management program at Parks Canada, said the fire was started by a lightning storm and grew quickly on Wednesday due to powerful winds. He described the fire as a monster and said there were no tools to deal with it. The flames reached 100 meters (328 feet) high in some places and spread very quickly.

Mike Ellis, Alberta’s minister for public safety, said the fire was 5 kilometers (three miles) outside of Jasper when the winds pushed it to the town in less than 30 minutes. He said that when you have a wall of flames coming at you like that, there is little to nothing you can do. He added that nobody expected the fire to grow so fast and large.

Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, thanked the emergency services for their response to the wildfires. He said that as the heartbreaking images from Jasper emerge, he wants to thank the brave first responders who are in Alberta, fighting to save every home and community they can.

Environment Canada said there might soon be a break from the hot and dry weather, which helped the fire grow, as rain is expected late on Thursday. This is another year of tough fire conditions for the province. Last year, a record 2.2 million hectares burned in Alberta between March 1 and October 31.

While the overall number of fires has decreased around the world over the last 20 years, researchers say climate change could bring more lightning to forests in northern parts of the globe, increasing the risk of wildfires.