While out-of-control wildfires continue to burn and smoulder in Jasper, the critical highway route through the national park is reopening on a limited basis to commercial traffic.
Parks Canada allowed access for commercial vehicles with a gross weight exceeding 11,794 kilograms access to Highway 16 for a one-hour period (from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.) Wednesday night.
There will be additional times available for commercial access, though the federal agency notes access can change without notice depending on fire behaviour and operational needs. The RCMP is controlling access to Highway 16 within the park in both directions.
Earlier Wednesday, the Alberta government said Highway 16 would open to limited commercial traffic within the day.
“Government of Alberta understands this is an important economic corridor and it’s a priority for us to get large trucks and tractor-trailers passing through the park again,” Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis said in a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
Parks Canada decides whether to close or open the road, but the Alberta government, including the premier and cabinet ministers, have pressed the importance of getting the highway open to commercial vehicle traffic, Ellis said.
“We are optimistic that it’s gonna be within the next 24 hours to get at least the commercial vehicles going through, that will be number one,” Ellis said. “And we’re trying to make sure that it is at the very minimum, safe.
“There’s a lot of planning that goes into this because really, quite frankly, we’re still at a crisis point when it comes to wildfires … in Jasper at the moment.”
Updates on when the highway will open to semis or other users will be posted to 511 Alberta and on the park’s website.
The stretch of Highway 16 through Jasper has been blocked from just west of Hinton to the B.C. border since July 22, when an estimated 25,000 people fled the park with hours notice as the flames encroached on highways, showering ash and embers.
About one-third of the structures in the townsite — an estimated 358 out of 1,113 — were destroyed when the flames moved in from the south last Wednesday, overwhelming crews.
The damage to Jasper from an immense wildfire — described as a monster, with flames reaching 100 metres high when it hit the Alberta town — were on full display during a guided tour provided by Parks Canada on Sunday. About one-third of all the town’s structures are estimated to have been destroyed.
The fire, likely sparked by lightning, is one in a cluster of three fires being fought as one. In all, they have burned more than 36,000 hectares.
Firefighters brace for renewed battle
Firefighters are bracing for another challenge, as officials with Parks Canada say increasingly hot and dry weather has begun to fan the flames.
“As expected, we are beginning to see an increase in fire behaviour as weather transitions to hotter, drier, and windier conditions,” an update from Parks Canada said Wednesday afternoon. “Thundershowers and wind gusts could create challenging conditions for firefighters who continue to action high priority areas.”
Tuesday was hotter and drier than anticipated, resulting in increased fire activity, officials said.
As the temperatures rose to 26 C and the winds gusted to 30 km/h, the fire grew, expanding its reach along the Icefields Parkway.
Wednesday’s forecast is expected to bring the same heat and gusting winds and there may be increased smoke in the area, officials cautioned. Winds are expected to gust up to 50 km/h this afternoon with a high of 25 C.
120 active fires across Alberta
Christie Tucker, information unit manager at Alberta Wildfire, said the month of July has been “unusually active” for wildfires across Alberta.
“We’ve had 488 new wildfire starts this month, which is nearly half the total for the year,” Tucker said, noting the average for July is 212.
“This year’s unusual situation is due to a combination of hot, dry, windy weather and lightning storms.”
A wildfire in the Nordegg area has prompted the closure of Highway 734 from Highway 752 (southwest of Rocky Mountain House) to Highway 11 (Nordegg) Wednesday.
There are currently 120 wildfires burning in the forest protection area, according to Alberta Wildfire.
Camp set up for firefighters
Over 750 personnel are working on the Jasper disaster, parks officials said Wednesday afternoon, and in an effort to free up hotel rooms for Jasper evacuees and alleviate housing pressures within Hinton, Alta., firefighters will be housed at an incident camp starting Wednesday evening.
Work continues to protect critical infrastructure and reduce the remaining risk to the community.
All remaining spot fires that had continued to smoulder in the townsite are now out but the fire continues to burn out of control across a vast stretch of forest to the northeast, east, and southeast of the community.
The town’s 5,000 residents remain displaced. Re-entry plans have been approved but will not be enacted until the fire is no longer deemed a threat.
Hazards posed by the wreckage must also be secured, and critical services restored, before the park gates will open to residents.
Debris removal is underway and crews are installing safety fencing around the debris of burned-out buildings, restoring power and felling trees left scorched and lifting dangerously by the flames.
“Our first priority is the safety and security of response staff, residents, and infrastructure before visitors will be allowed to return,” Parks Canada said Tuesday.
“All available resources are currently dedicated to responding to this incident and we thank you for your continued patience and understanding.”
A plan to help campers who left trailers and personal belongings in the national park is also underway and will be finalized in the next 24 to 48 hours, Ellis said Wednesday. Jasper National Park remains closed.
Premier Danielle Smith says Alberta will push the federal government and the Town of Jasper to fast-track the rebuild of the picturesque Rocky Mountain townsite.
Smith says her government is striking a committee of senior civil servants to work with Parks Canada and Jasper leaders to swap ideas, expedite development permits and collaborate on ways to restore Jasper as quickly as possible.
“Sometimes these permit approvals can be complicated. They can be lengthy,” Smith told reporters in Calgary on Tuesday.
“But we also see what happens on the other end, that a few years in, you can actually make great progress.
“We don’t want to be three or four years in and still waiting for development and permit approvals.”
Controlled burns taking place
As rising temperatures fan the blaze that devastated Jasper, crews battling the flames plan to fight fire with fire.
Firefighters deployed by Parks Canada are hoping to contain the flames by robbing the fire of fuel.
Ignition specialists are assessing options to burn unburned and partially burned trees near the fire perimeter.
The controlled burns will take place along the edge of the flames. Dozer guards have been dug out in an attempt to break the path of the fire, Parks Canada said in a statement Wednesday.
The operations will help remove fuel from the fire and prevent the fire from breaching control lines — perimeters cut through the forest designed to contain the flames.
The work will only be carried out in “carefully chosen conditions,” parks officials said.