Highway 16 between Hinton, Alta., and Jasper on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. Wildfires are raging through Alberta and British Columbia.
Reopening the Trans-Canada Highway through wildfire-ravaged Jasper hinges on preparing security teams to keep travellers out of the townsite, the superintendent of Jasper National Park says. Reopening the Trans-Canada Highway through wildfire-ravaged Jasper hinges on preparing security teams to keep travellers out of the town, the superintendent of Jasper National Park says.
A barricade at the intersection of Highway 16 and Highway 40 just west of Hinton is preventing traffic from travelling toward Jasper. "We want to keep safety in mind, but will consider all options to ensure the flow of goods can move along the corridor as soon as possible," Furber said.With fire threatening Jasper from the south and the east last week, evacuees were told to head west to Valemount, B.C., and beyond. Reaching Hinton, where other displaced Jasperites have gathered, would take a 12-hour drive by other routes. Valemount to Hinton is usually a 200-km drive.
Park superintendent Fehr said Parks Canada is working on a security plan to open Highway 16, but prevent people from entering the Jasper townsite, "and ensure that we don't get people going into properties or into the town with there being no one present and no police presence or security of any kind.
"Our hearts are more with the people of Jasper that have been displaced than it is with how we have to divert, or do things differently with getting freight from A to B," he said.
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