Canadians mourn as Jasper, jewel of the Rockies, burns

Tears welled in Tasha Porttin’s eyes as she reminisced on the sheer beauty of the place she’s called home for 10 years.

Jasper’s mountain peaks and the picture-perfect pine trees that frame its vivid baby-blue lakes make it a popular tourist destination attracting millions each year.

The natural beauty and small businesses, like the pharmacy she started, make the quaint alpine town in Canada’s Alberta province a jewel of the nation.

It’s a “place that has the biggest heart of any community I’ve met”, she said through tears. “It grabs people and never lets go.”

Those memories have now been replaced by an evolving nightmare. An out-of-control blaze has levelled about 33% of the buildings in the Canadian Rockies resort town, and fire crews are still working to douse the flames that have already burned 89,000 acres (36,000 hectares).

Rain tamped down the fire on Thursday night, and no new blazes have started in the last day, officials said in an update on Friday. But winds were expected to pick up and hot, dry weather is forecast to return by Monday.

Out of a total of 1,113 structures in the town of Jasper, 358 have been destroyed, according to town officials, who added that it may be weeks before residents can return home.

But “all critical infrastructure in Jasper was successfully protected” – including schools, a hospital, and a water treatment plant.
Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland said his own home may have been destroyed by the fire. “Where the fire did the most damage, that’s where my home is”.

“How I will react remains to be seen.”
The mayor said despite preparation and years of training, the nature of the fire “humbled the humans on the ground”.
He added that “nature prevailed” with 100m (328 ft) high walls of flames that were metres wide.

Ms Porttin rushed to flee the area in a camping trailer that her husband bought less than a month ago. She has been monitoring the fire, waiting with concern as buildings nearby crumble.

“I have seen images of it standing,” she said of her business. “Unfortunately, the buildings next to it are not. That’s pretty much all I know.”
“It’s just surreal to think our downtown is not the way we left it.”

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