Hinton officials and community leaders say the town will continue to do all it can to support Jasper, despite dealing with their own issues as a result of the fires.
WATCH ABOVE: Residents that fled the townsite of Jasper National Park began returning home, or in many cases, to assess what is left of theirs after wildfire destroyed hundreds of buildings in the Alberta mountain town. Erik Bay spoke to some residents about the emotions of the day and what kind of supports they are receiving.
Less than 48 hours after the evacuation order was issued, the fires reached the townsite and destroyed 358 buildings, or a third of the community’s structures. That included some 800 housing units.Hinton officials and community leaders say the town will continue to do all it can to support its municipal neighbour, despite dealing with their own issues as a result of the fires.
“We’ve had more help and assistance for displaced people than we’ve actually had displaced people,” said Hinton’s Mayor Nicholas Nissen. “What we’ve gone through pales in comparison. But at the same time, there’s a lot of businesses in town that are hurting right now.”The chamber is surveying businesses to get a clearer understanding of the fire’s direct impacts, but he said it’s possible some businesses have needed to lay off staff.
“We need to go in hard and fast and we need to co-ordinate everything and we need to get it in there because people want to get back to normal and they want to live in their homes and they need food — they’re tired of eating out.” “I think that we will absorb the folks that we need to fairly well,” said Nissen. “We even have plenty of land, we can get work camps and temporary housing set up as needed.”
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