Residents of Jasper may soon be able to return to town, but only after the municipality meets various criteria.
The Municipality of Jasper outlined the Jasper Emergency Advisory Committee’s six requirements, not declined to offer a specific timeline.
“We understand and appreciate your desire to come home. We are unable to give timelines yet as the site is currently unsafe, and the wildfire status remains out of control. We know and hear that residents want to come home and we will make that happen when it is safe to do so,” said the Municipality of Jasper in a press release.
For residents of Jasper to re-enter the town, Parks Canada must confirm that the wildfire is not an “imminent threat to the townsite.” Additionally, all hazards in the town must be deemed “secured or mitigated.”
Emergency services, including fire, police, and EMS, and critical services, such as healthcare, public works, and utilities, must be restored to a basic level of service. Similarly, retail services, such as grocery, gas, banking, and pharmacy must also be returned to a basic level of service.
Lastly, a formal re-entry plan will have to be approved. Though listing the criteria with numerical bullet points, Jasper said the requirements are not sequential and will be addressed simultaneously.
“Life safety will remain the top priority; fire threat could require evacuation of the townsite at any point in the future,” reads Jasper’s release.
Parks Canada provided an update Tuesday confirming that Jasper National Park remained closed due to evolving wildfire activity. The federal agency confirmed that all reservations in the park’s campgrounds and accommodations up to Sept. 3, are cancelled. Full refunds will be issued, but they could take a while. No action is required from visitors to receive their refunds.
The federal agency said that there is no estimated date for reopening.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault previously said the feds took all possible measures to combat the Jasper wildfire, and anything to say that they could have done more is “simply not true.”
Thirty percent of the town was claimed by the fire, officials said. While all fires in the town have been extinguished, wildfires in surrounding areas remain a concern.
Landon Shepherd, a deputy incident commander on the fire, said that work is being done to deal with damage in the community.
“But the wildfire threat is certainly still real,” said Shepherd.
The Municipality of Jasper said the wildfire continues to burn and smoulder along Highway 16 on Monday. The highway remains closed.
Over 20,000 residents and visitors were forced to evacuate Jasper last Monday. Any adult evacuated for more than seven days can receive $1,250 in support, while any child is entitled to $500.
Ron Hallman, the president and CEO of Parks Canada, said that the agency’s sole focus is the safety and long-term well-being of the residents of Jasper, both in the short- and long-term planning around re-entry and rebuilding.
“Parks Canada will be doing absolutely everything we can to support recovery, including streamlining local development review processes to support temporary housing and long-term rebuilding work that will come, both for residents and business operators and their employees whose livelihoods have been affected,” said Hallman.