Evacuation alert for Jasper, Alta., lifted as wildfire in national park now being held: officials

The evacuation alert for Jasper, Alta., was lifted on Saturday, after a large fire in the national park was classified as being held, officials said.

The Jasper Wildfire Complex, a group of fires that have burned more than 33,000 hectares combined, was burning out of control for nearly four weeks. One of its fires destroyed one-third of the historic townsite, before merging with another in the group.

Firefighters progressively gained on its perimeter, and on Saturday, Parks Canada and Municipality of Jasper officials announced the flames were contained.

"Today, all the dedication, teamwork and sacrifice has paid off," Jonathan Large, an incident commander for Parks Canada, the agency leading the wildfire response, said during a virtual news conference.

A wildfire is classified as being held once it's completely contained, according to an Alberta Wildfire document. Fires with this label are not expected to move beyond the established boundaries under prevailing or forecasted weather. The fire may still be active and emit smoke, but it is considered contained.

Sometimes, extreme weather could push a fire out of control again, the document says. But usually, once the flames are held, firefighters can reinforce their containment lines and start working to get control over the fire.

"With the forecast we have, the work done and the amount of crews and helicopters and such, we don't expect that fire to spread," Large said. "We're on track to get [to an under-control phase] in the coming weeks."

As a result, the evacuation alert for the town of Jasper — not the entire national park — has been lifted, Municipality of Jasper incident commander Christine Nadon later told CBC News.

"That's very big news for people of the townsite," Nadon said.

The Jasper Wildfire complex is among 104 total wildfires burning throughout Alberta as of 11:45 a.m. MT Saturday, according to the Alberta Wildfire dashboard.

Lightning sparked several fires in the national park in mid-to-late July. Two of those fires — one north, another south of Jasper — started threatening the town and the highways that access it.

On July 22, the Alberta Emergency Management Agency issued an evacuation order for the national park. An estimated 25,000 people, including the roughly 5,000 residents of Jasper, had to flee late that night.

Before 7 p.m. MT on July 24, the south fire was burning in the town. The flames, officials have said, reached more than 100 metres high and forced many first responders to relocate to Hinton, Alta.

The fire destroyed 358 of the 1,113 total structures in Jasper. Most of those homes and businesses were in the west end.

All critical infrastructure was saved.

One person died because of the fire: Morgan Kitchen, a 24-year-old wildland firefighter from Calgary. His funeral is being held on Saturday.

After several weeks from home, Jasper residents were allowed back into the community on Friday. Leaders within the Jasper fire department organized firefighters and first responders to line the street to welcome people back, said fire Chief Mathew Conte.

He heard from crew members that it was an emotional, raw moment, he said.

"Everyone saw the photos and everything that has been shared through social media and all that. It doesn't really do it justice until you're back in the townsite and see it for yourself," Conte said.

Officials do not have hard numbers regarding how many returned, said Nadon.

ATCO crews, however, restored service in 330 to 350 homes on Friday, and between 500 and 700 people visited the Red Cross support centre, Nadon said.

"A good share of the residents in the unaffected area came back," she said. "Others are waiting because of personal reasons, or [they are] further away or prefer to wait before coming back to Jasper."

The municipality should have more accurate numbers in the coming days, Nadon said.

Those in town are working to get their homes back order. The municipality has released a re-entry guide, helping prepare residents before they enter town and giving checklists of things to do.

Before the flames hit Jasper, firefighters removed potentially flammable materials from homes, such as barbecues. Now, they're helping residents put things back, Conte said.

Mike Kertesz returned home Friday, checking the utilities and appliances. His freezers and fridges were stocked with food now rotten; laundry in the washing machine was sitting there getting moldy, he said.

"The insurance company had instructed us, 'Don't even bother opening it. Tape it up, it's done,'" Kertesz said, adding that they would never be able to get the smell out.

He knows there is a long way to finish rebuilding, he said, but there is a sense of determination among some townspeople, eager to "move forward and get this town back up and rolling."