Residents of Jasper, Alberta, will learn new details in two days about the plan to return them home, three weeks after being forced to flee because of a massive wildfire.
Mayor Richard Ireland and management unit director Alan Fehr are due to provide an update Friday on what is being called a “phased reintegration” into the city.
Officials said, however, that the plan to reopen the fire-ravaged town of Jasper will go ahead as planned Friday, but only for residents for now.
Mr. Ireland explained the decision by residents’ concerns about visitors intruding on their privacy as they learned firsthand about the condition of their homes and businesses.
PHOTO AMBER BRACKEN, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
The main infrastructure was spared from the flames, but work is still needed.
Residents were previously allowed to see their homes on bus tours, but were not allowed to go out and look around.
Jasper’s 5,000 residents and 20,000 visitors were forced to leave the tourist destination on July 22, just days before a wind-swept wildfire ravaged the town and destroyed a third of the buildings.
According to initial estimates, the fires destroyed $283 million worth of property, representing an annual loss of $2.2 million in tax revenue for the city.
The main infrastructure was spared from the flames, but work is still needed.
The Jasper School Board is racing to get smoke-damaged schools back up and running before classes start. Almost everything needs to be cleaned and repaired.
Authorities said earlier this week that public and essential services had been restored to the point that a general reopening would begin Friday for everyone, whether they live in the city or not.