Rain helps rescuers battle fire in Canadian town

Published July 27, 2024
SMOKE rises from a wildfire burning in Canada’s Jasper National Park after it devoured more than half of a town in western Canada.—AFP
SMOKE rises from a wildfire burning in Canada’s Jasper National Park after it devoured more than half of a town in western Canada.—AFP

OTTAWA: Steady rain is helping firefighters working to contain a massive wildfire that has devastated parts of the western Canadian tourist town of Jasper, authorities said on Friday.

Jasper is in the middle of mountainous Jasper National Park in the province of Alberta. A huge fast-moving fire has damaged or destroyed up to half the town’s structures.

Parks Canada said bet­w­een 10 mm and 15 mm of rain had fallen on Thurs­day. “This precipitation will likely keep fire behaviour low for the next 72 hours,” it said in a statement.

“Crews will take advantage of this time to make as much progress as possible to suppress the wildfire and reduce further spread. While rain in Jasper is a welcome sight, warm wea­ther is forecast and will increase wildfire activity.”

Authorities have so far declined to give specific details of how many buildings were lost in Jasper, which normally has a population of around 5,000. Video posted to social media showed entire blocks had been burned to the ground.

The town and park, which draw more than 2 million tourists a year to this area of the Rocky Mountains, were evacuated on Monday, when officials estimated there were up to 10,000 people in the town and a further 15,000 visitors in the park.

Late on Thursday, authorities said crews had managed to protect all of Jasper’s critical infrastructure. This included the hospital, schools and a wastewater treatment plant.

The Jasper Park Lodge, one of the largest hotels in town, said it had suffered some damage but most structures remained standing and intact. The 400-room residence is run by Fairmont, a group owned by France’s Accor.

The Trans Mountain oil pipeline, which can carry 890,000 barrels per day of oil from Edmonton to Vancouver, runs through the park. The operator said on Thursday there were no signs of damage.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2024

Opinion

Editorial

Trump 2.0
Updated 07 Nov, 2024

Trump 2.0

It remains to be seen how his promises to bring ‘peace’ to Middle East reconcile with his blatantly pro-Israel bias.
Fait accompli
07 Nov, 2024

Fait accompli

A SLEW of secretively conceived and hastily enacted legislation has achieved its intended result: the powers of the...
IPP contracts
07 Nov, 2024

IPP contracts

THE government expects the ongoing ‘negotiations’ with power producers aimed at revising the terms of sovereign...
Rushed legislation
Updated 06 Nov, 2024

Rushed legislation

For all its stress on "supremacy of parliament", the ruling coalition has wasted no opportunity to reiterate where its allegiances truly lie.
Jail reform policy
06 Nov, 2024

Jail reform policy

THE state is making a fresh attempt to improve conditions in Pakistan’s penitentiaries by developing a national...
BISP overhaul
06 Nov, 2024

BISP overhaul

IT has emerged that the spouses of over 28,500 Sindh government employees have been illicitly benefiting from BISP....