Critical details of the staged re-entry into the Jasper townsite for residents will be available on Monday, August 12.

Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland made the announcement on Saturday at an 11 a.m. (MST) media briefing.

“My hope is that the knowledge of the pending announcement will provide a bridge and some measure of comfort to those so fraught with anxiety and the desire to know when they’ll be able to come home,” Ireland said. 

“Monday, they will know.”

Ireland said that throughout the incident—which began in evening of July 22 when the community and park were evacuated from the threat of a wildfire which impinged the townsite two days later—residents have clung to the prospect of re-entry as some reward for their enduring patience and understanding.

“For residents, their strength, their endurance, their resolve is inextricably tethered to the opportunity to go home, to begin the arduous task of rebuilding their homes, their businesses and their lives,” Ireland said.

He added that thanks to the exceptionally dedicated, focused work of those on the incident management team, the criteria for re-entry continues to be achieved at an accelerated pace.

Crews have made great strides in reconnecting gas, water and electricity to essential facilities and some residential blocks, Parks Canada’s incident management team reported on Friday.

During an August 8 update, Parks Canada liaison officer Steve Blake said when the signal for re-entry comes, businesses, landlords and other stakeholders should be ready on their end to be able to best meet the needs of their clients, customers and tenants. 

“Be prepared, be reactive, be nimble, be compassionate,” Blake said. “You have a role in leading this.”

On Friday, Parks Canada distributed a status summary of some of the fires in the overall Jasper complex. The list included a rapid assessment of damaged and destroyed structures in campgrounds and other significant visitor vectors. About 49 structures of 321 listed have been destroyed. Twelve structures at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge leasehold were destroyed with no damage to the Lodge itself, IMT communications reported. The full status list of fires of note and updated information on infrastructure damage in Jasper National Park is available at https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/ab/jasper/visit/feu-alert-fire/feudeforet-wildfire.

During the Saturday media briefing, Parks Canada incident commander Jon Large told reporters that around the townsite, the northwest perimeter of the Jasper wildfire complex was “80 percent contained.”

Twelve aircraft, working in tandem with ground suppression crews, continue to fight the fire on multiple fronts. Cool, wet weather earlier in the week allowed crews to make great gains in minimizing fire activity, although Thursday and Friday saw increased intensity, Large said. The fire remains active near the Jasper SkyTram and near Kerkeslin Campground, on the Icefields Parkway.

On August 9, Highway 16 between Hinton and Tete Jaune Cache, B.C., opened to all traffic for the first time since the incident. The highway is open to eastbound and westbound traffic from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. (MST); stopping is not permitted, RCMP Cst. Lauren Mowbray reminded members of the public on Saturday. 

There were no issues with motorists on Friday, Mowbray said.

“The first day of the highway re-opening was very successful for us…traffic was flowing smoothly,” Mowbray said.

Also on Friday, public access on the Icefields Parkway was extended from Saskatchewan River Crossing to the Columbia Icefields Area.  Only authorized operators are allowed on the glacier and all other trails and all campgrounds in Jasper National Park are closed.

Ireland said the progress is reassuring and that Monday is “a critical day.”

“Everybody takes huge pride in the effort of the incident management team getting us to this point,” he said. “Please understand that returning residents safely to their homes has been and continues to be the overriding goal.”

Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com