To fellow Skålleagues across Canada and worldwide, by now most of you will have heard about the destructive forest fire that has burnt about 30% of the historic Rockies town of Jasper, Alberta.
As the President of the Skål Canadian Rockies club, which includes members from Jasper, I would like to give you a brief update on what has happened and is continuing to happen.
During the night of July 24, 25 a massive forest fire, which had been burning south of the town, grew tremendously in size briefly and roared into town. A third of the town was quickly engulfed in flames. Due to good planning, the entire town and all of the summer visitors in campgrounds and hotels had been evacuated (approximately 25,000 people) the day before and there has been no loss of life from the fire. We are all extremely grateful for this.
The current situation as far as we have heard from authorities is that the fire remains active, but because 15 mm of rain was received yesterday, it has been held in check for the time being. Critical infrastructure in town and remaining homes and buildings are being protected as best as possible.
Our Club has approximately 20 members from Jasper which includes hoteliers, restaurants, tour operators and tourism service providers. Everyone has been affected terribly. Many have lost their homes, some have had their hotels, restaurants, and offices burned down, and every single one has had their entire business shut down for at least the remainder of this year and possibly well beyond. We can all imagine the devastation.
I have spoken to many of our Jasper members, and all are in safe locations with families, just waiting to see what happens, not knowing what to do yet. Members of our Club are currently offering assistance where needed for temporary housing, etc. Once we are beyond this event, we will be busy planning ways in which we can help our Jasper members recover. They are strong and they are resilient – Jasper will return!
In the meantime, we can only hope that the fire-fighting crews that have been battling this blaze can prevent it from destroying more of the town and that the fire will be brought under control. A lot of rain would be most welcome!
Any comments, thoughts, or questions can be directed to me, at gordon@whitemountainadventures.com, and I will provide another update in due time. Your thoughts, wishes, and prayers are all welcome!
Gratefully,
Gordon Stermann
President, Skål International Canadian Rockies
