Jasper residents return to wildfire-ravaged townsite as re-entry begins
People forced from their homes by a monster wildfire have begun returning to Jasper, Alta., to sift through the ashes of their devastated community.
Before the town opened to residents Friday, a line of headlights flashed against the darkness as returning evacuees waited for re-entry to begin.
As the sun began to peek over the Rockies, Highway 16 opened and a procession of trucks and vehicles began snaking their way through Jasper National Park toward the wildfire-ravaged community.
A Canadian flag flapped along the highway from a bright red fire truck with ladder extended. "Welcome Back" was written on a banner at the RCMP checkpoint.
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Clouds filled the sky and smoke hung heavy in the air. Those driving in from the east saw swaths of charred forests, trees burned black like used matches.
Residents have been warned to brace for a harsh new reality. Residents of the historic national park townsite will travel back to a community unrecognizable from the one they left behind nearly four weeks ago.
In all, 358 of Jasper's 1,113 buildings were lost to the fire that ripped through the town on the evening of July 24, less than 48 hours after a mass evacuation was called, ordering 25,000 residents and visitors to flee the townsite and national park.
Entire neighbourhoods on the southern side of town were destroyed.
Mike Kertesz, a Jasper resident of 30 years, lined up along the highway hours before the gates opened Friday morning, anxious to return home.
Despite seeing images of the wildfire damage, he expects it will be a shock to see the destruction firsthand.
"This is our community," Kertesz said in an interview from the shoulder of the highway before the gates opened.
Geikie Street looking toward Patricia Street in Jasper, Alta., in a photo released by Parks Canada on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (Parks Canada)
"This is where we raised our kids and it's going to look a lot different."
Kertesz will be checking on his own home and two others belonging to his relatives. He said he will be focused on checking for any smoke, water, or sewage damage and ridding the homes of spoiled fridges and freezers.
He said he's been losing sleep thinking about the hard work ahead as recovery begins.
Kertesz describes himself as one of the fortunate ones. His family home on the east side of the townsite is still standing.
He's thankful to firefighters for saving what they could and grateful that he's in a position to help his neighbours whose homes were destroyed.
"There's a lot of people in this town who have completely lost everything," he said. "And so, we're ready to come back and get our lives together, but also, to help the whole community."
Only residents and support people who are helping them deal the disaster will be granted to the townsite. All areas outside the town remain closed, including Highway 93 to the south.
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RCMP officers have been tasked with patrolling the town's east entrance and turning outsiders away. Designated support people — close friends or family who are helping residents deal with the disaster — will be granted access to the townsite.
Mayor Richard Ireland said residents are concerned about visitors intruding on their privacy as they survey the damage to their homes and businesses.
He urged outsiders and reporters to keep a respectful distance as the community confronts their losses firsthand.
"Residents will need time and the space to confront their grief privately," Ireland said Wednesday.
A difficult homecoming
Residents are being advised to approach their damaged properties with caution and to prepare for the shock of seeing the damage.
Officials have cautioned of the risks of returning to the devastation zone, from toxic waste, unstable structures and smoke so dense returning evacuees have been advised to wear N95 masks.
Cabin Creek Drive in Jasper, Alta., in a photo released by Parks Canada on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (Parks Canada)
"The photos you have seen will not prepare you for the smell," the municipality cautioned in a statement to evacuees.
"The state of Jasper is very different now. The process of returning may be intense."
Evacuees who lost their homes are being urged to use their first hours and days in Jasper to assess their losses and carefully document the damage.
Officials have cautioned that no one should count on spending the night.
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Many properties still standing have sustained significant damage from smoke, heat, and water from burst pipes and efforts to douse the flames.
There are no accommodations in place for those whose homes were lost and services, including running water, remain spotty.
The wildfire that destroyed one-third of the buildings in Jasper moved in from the south, spitting embers and shooting flames hundreds of metres into the sky.
Wind-whipped and fuelled by bone-dry conditions, it defied all firefighting efforts and crossed into the townsite, lighting up homes and businesses in sheets of orange.
The fire eventually merged with another blaze that had been menacing from the north and has now consumed more than 33,000 hectares.
'A communal loss'
Matricia Bauer said she has been forcing herself to look at photos and footage of the destruction to help her brace herself for what she will see.
She will return to Jasper early Friday morning but only plans to stay for a few hours to assess the damage.
Vehicles line the highway outside the east gates to Jasper National Park Friday as re-entry to the community began for thousands of residents forced out by wildfire last month. (Emilio Avalos/Radio-Canada)
Her condo survived but properties surrounding her home on the western edge of the townsite have been gutted. She expects her home sustained significant smoke damage.
"We were pretty close to the fire," Bauer said. "It came right up, all around us."
Bauer hails, from Sturgeon Lake Cree First Nation a community devastated by fire last summer, but has lived in Jasper for more than a decade. She operates Warrior Women, an Indigenous tourism guide operation that showcases the region's Indigenous culture.
She said it will take time for the community to heal.
"There's a little bit of survivor guilt that my place is still standing, but I also don't know what I'm walking into," she said. "My heart breaks every time I learn of somebody whose place has burned down.
"It's not just my loss, it's a communal loss."
The wildfire continues to burn within the national park. A state of emergency and an evacuation alert will remain in effect, and residents must be prepared to leave at a moment's notice.
Re-entry to Jasper was made possible by critical progress made on the fire line. The fire's northern perimeter, which poses the biggest threat to the community, has been contained.
The flames, however, are expected to remain a volatile presence within the park for months.
Crews expect to be fighting the fire until late in the fall and plumes of smoke will continue to billow over the skyline, long after residents return.
Ireland said seeing fire on the landscape will be part of a difficult "new normal" for Jasper residents.
"Photographs and images on television cannot convey the sense of loss that will be felt in the hearts of residents when they see their homes and their town again," he said.
Thumbnail image credit to Connor O'Donovan/The Weather Network.
This article, written by Wallis Snowdon, was originally published for CBC News on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. With files from Madeleine Cummings and Sam Samson
