Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was so overcome with emotion during Thursday’s press conference that she could barely get the words out while providing her wildfire update.
“We’re seeing potentially 30 to 50% structural damage, to give you some idea,” said Smith. “You’ve seen the images as I have. We don’t know particularly which structures have been damaged and which ones have been destroyed.”
Smith’s emotion nearly overcame her as she recounted what Jasper meant to her and to many Albertans.
“With some of the most beautiful scenery in the entire world, our grandparents visited to experience the majesty of this place with its mountains, lakes, and meadows. They took our parents, who then took us to this special spot that they’d spent time in as children,” said Smith.
“And now we take our own kids and our own loved ones and visitors from around the world to feel that same feeling that you get. Your first glimpse of the mountains on the horizon. A feeling that even though you’ve just left home, you’re coming home.”
Stephen Lacroix, managing director of Alberta’s Emergency Management Agency, said that the fire reached 100 metres in height. Despite being over five kilometres away from Jasper, it made its way to the town in less than 30 minutes due to heavy wind gusts.
“There’s little to nothing you can do when you have a wall of flames coming in like that. Kudos to those folks that were the heroes that stood their ground in order to fight that fire,” he said. “Kudos to the folks who are the structural firefighters that were preparing for that fire to be coming. But nobody anticipated that fire to come so fast, so large, and so quickly.”
Alberta Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis said that there were an estimated 25,000 people in Jasper at the time of evacuation, but most of them were visitors who had a place to return to. The number of provincewide evacuees exceeds 17,500.
Emergency response centres are set up in Grande Prairie, Edmonton, and Calgary to support evacuees with hotels and meals. Any adult evacuated for more than seven days can receive $1,250 in support, and any child is entitled to $500.
As of Thursday afternoon, 176 wildfires were burning in the forest protection area of Alberta. Of those, 54 are deemed “out of control,” 50 are “held,” and 69 are “under control.”
Christie Tucker, information unit manager for Alberta Wildfire, said that 1,900 Albertan firefighters, contractors, and support staff are working hard this wildfire season.
Australia was the first to send international support, with 50 firefighters arriving on Tuesday. An additional 400 firefighters are expected to arrive by the weekend, with 100 from Mexico, 200 from South Africa, and another 100 from Australia and New Zealand.
The Alberta government passed legislation in the spring session, granting them more authority to intervene when fires crossed jurisdictional lines.
Jasper National Park falls under Parks Canada’s jurisdiction, with a unified command between the federal government and the municipality of Jasper.
Because Alberta is not part of this unified command, Smith said that they can’t send any equipment into their federal airspace, including unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, and water bombers, without being integrated with the federal agency.
Alberta’s minister of forestry and parks, Todd Loewen, said that Parks Canada requests equipment which Alberta then provides, but cannot act proactively.
Tucker said that the province provided night-vision helicopters to Parks Canada Wednesday night. The extreme conditions made it impossible to fly them, however.
Smith met with federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan Thursday and had a call scheduled with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss further coordination. Alberta has called on the Canadian Armed Forces for assistance.
Jasper and various surrounding municipalities have been issued evacuation orders. Other nearby municipalities remain on high alert, urged to be ready to depart at a moment’s notice if necessary.
Sajjan and Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault are set to host a news conference on Friday morning to discuss the wildfire situation in Alberta.
Smith told Albertans to not lose hope.
“To those in Alberta and around the world who have experienced the magic of Jasper, the magic is not lost, and it never will be,” Smith said.