Thousands of travellers woke up to uncertainty Tuesday after overnight wildfires in Jasper National Park raged wildly, forcing thousands to flee.
Everyone in the vast park — tourists, hikers, campers, boaters — as well as 4,700 residents of the town of Jasper were ordered out late Monday night as wildfires blocked evacuation routes to the east and south.
The result was a long, slow line of cars and trucks heading west through the mountains into British Columbia, in darkness and swirling smoke, soot and ash.
Many evacuees sought shelter overnight in Valemount, B.C., a town of 1,000 people about 120 kilometres west of Jasper.
“The municipality is pretty full,” city administrator Anne Yanciw said in an interview.
“Every parking lot, boulevard, roadside, field… everything that looks like it could accommodate a vehicle is full.”
Some evacuees spent the night on the floor of the local arena. Others stayed at the Legion. A local church served a pancake breakfast while drinks, snacks, information and respite were offered at the Valemount Community Hall and Visitors Centre.
Mme Yanciw said most travelers were starting to take the smoky road — slowly, but without incident.
“We hope that most of them will find their way back to Alberta,” she said.
On Monday night, photos and videos shared on social media showed a nighttime procession of cars and trucks, bumper to bumper, headlights on, red taillights on, cars moving, stopping, starting, dragging themselves through swirling tendrils of acrid smoke.
“The smoke is pretty thick. We have masks in the car,” Edmonton resident Carolyn Campbell said in a phone interview from her vehicle.
Mme Campbell reported that it took her hours to travel just seven kilometres. She said they had enough gas, but she was worried about others who fled with little gas in their tanks.
Access cut off
The Jasper townsite and the park’s main east-west artery, Highway 16, were caught in a pincer movement of flames. Fires threatening from the northeast cut off access to the highway east to Edmonton.
Another fire coming from the south has forced the closure of the north-south axis of the Icefields Parkway. That left one route open – west to British Columbia.
The Town of Jasper and Jasper National Park announced in an updated emergency alert Tuesday morning that the evacuation of the town and park is “progressing well” and people should continue to follow directions as the majority of traffic is being directed west on Highway 16.
“Only when roadside fire conditions permit will small groups of escorted vehicles be directed east on Highway 16,” city and park officials said in the alert.
In British Columbia, the province has promised to help find housing.
“B.C. will do everything possible to provide safe haven for Jasper evacuees and we will work as quickly as possible to coordinate routes and organize host communities on our side of the border,” Bowinn Ma, B.C.’s Minister of Emergency Management, said in a post on X.
Jasper National Park is the largest in the Canadian Rockies, home to campgrounds, scenic rivers and lakes, and an extensive network of trails.
The Jasper fires were one of several blazes burning across Alberta that had already forced 7,500 people to flee to a series of remote communities.
The province has been in the grip of stifling heat for days, with temperatures soaring above 30 degrees Celsius.
More than 160 wildfires are currently burning across Alberta, belching clouds of smoke and darkening the skies.