More than three weeks after a wildfire forced them to flee, Jasperites will soon be able to return to their beloved town. But there is anxiety among the few who found refuge in the neighbouring town of Hinton, about 45 minutes east of Jasper.
"It’s hard to anticipate how you’re going to feel when you get there," said long-time Jasper resident, Phil Walker. "You don’t know exactly what you’re walking into."Walker and his roommate Brad Mah are planning to make their way into town Friday, after the gates to Jasper National Park open at 7 a.m. Their apartment is still standing, but they aren’t quite sure it is habitable.
"We won’t know until we actually get there tomorrow. We plan to stay for the day and assess the situation and go from there."into the town. Jonathan Large, incident commander with Parks Canada, says visitors and media are not permitted for the time being to let residents have privacy. A third of the town – mostly homes and businesses – was destroyed by the wildfire last month and $283 million worth of property was destroyed.
"Maybe people with compromised breathing like asthma or something like that might want to avoid it or might want to just take extra precautions wearing the appropriate mask," said Large.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Evacuees flee to B.C. after Jasper wildfires block escape routesEvacuees fleeing Jasper and Jasper National Park are being directed west to B.C. on Highway 16.
Read more »
Jasper wildfire: Alberta government to look into mixed messaging in evacuation ordersThe Alberta government said it has questions and will be looking into the messaging used in evacuation orders issued Monday night amid a wildfire in the Jasper region.
Read more »
Jasper wildfire evacuees told to U-turn away from B.C., head to AlbertaAlberta fire officials say B.C. has its hands full with its own wildfires and evacuations
Read more »
Jasper wildfires growing, menacing historic Alberta townsite from two directionsEDMONTON — Fuelled by whipping winds, fires in Jasper National Park are edging closer from two directions to the historic Rocky Mountain townsite of Jasper.
Read more »
Jasper wildfires growing, menacing historic Alberta townsite from two directionsEDMONTON — Fuelled by whipping winds, fires in Jasper National Park are edging closer from two directions to the historic Rocky Mountain townsite of Jasper.
Read more »
Jasper wildfires growing, menacing historic Alberta townsite from two directionsEDMONTON — Fuelled by whipping winds, fires in Jasper National Park bore down from two directions Wednesday on the historic Rocky Mountain townsite of Jasper.
Read more »