(Jasper) Parks Canada says torrential rains this weekend in parts of Jasper National Park are helping to calm fire activity, but the rainy weather also comes with a warning.
In a daily update on the local wildfire situation, Parks Canada says parts of the national park received more than 30 millimetres of rain Friday evening.
Cooler temperatures were also forecast, which the agency said could further reduce fire activity.
But Parks Canada is warning everyone that rain could make burned slopes and trees unstable, and that strong or changing winds could bring down trees weakened by the fire and whose roots are breaking off.
PHOTO AMBER BRACKEN, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
A wildfire smolders in Jasper, Alberta on August 16, 2024.
The wildfire that prompted a weeks-long evacuation of the park and the town of Jasper was declared “on hold” last weekend.
Jasper National Park and the town are still closed to visitors, but Highway 16 through the park is open and the Icefields Parkway connecting Jasper to Banff and Lake Louise reopened to traffic last week.
Parks Canada said in its Saturday update that assessments of hazardous trees adjacent to park highways have only determined that the routes are safe for people in vehicles.
He added that only the townsite roads and Pyramid Lake Road were deemed safe for biking, running and walking.
Parks Canada says encouraging progress by crews battling the Jasper wildfire complex means the agency will now move from daily to weekly updates unless the fire becomes more active.