B.C. towns full, Jasper wildfire evacuees directed to Alberta
British Columbians have flung open their doors to welcome evacuees from wildfires, but government officials are warning space in the province is limited.
"The reality is British Columbia does not have the accommodations for those thousands and thousands of additional evacuees," said B.C.'s Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma, while emphasizing the province was doing everything it could to support Albertan residents and tourists making their way through the province.
About 4,700 residents of the mountain town of Jasper and hundreds of tourists from the surrounding national park were told to leave late Monday night as wildfire advanced toward the community.
CANADA'S WILDFIRES: Visit The Weather Network's wildfire hub to keep up with the latest on the active wildfire season across Canada.
With highways east toward Edmonton closed, they were asked to take a mountain road along Highway 16 into British Columbia where traffic was bumper-to-bumper and slow moving.
The nearest community was Valemount, B.C., where a welcome centre was immediately set up and residents rallied to find space for people to rest.
Hoses are seen spraying water over houses in the historic gold rush community of Barkerville, B.C., as it is threatened by wildfires. (B.C. Wildfire Service)
600 jammed into campsite meant for 100
Brian Oates is the manager of the Valemount Pines Golf & RV Park, which normally has a capacity of about 100. By Tuesday morning, he said, there were close to 600 people staying on his grounds.
"We said come here, stay with us as long as you need — we are here to help you and it's free of charge, as well," he said in an interview with CBC News.
"Seeing everybody coming here crying, they are upset and I'm glad we get to be able to brighten them up a little."
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Valemount Mayor Owen Torgerson said the entire community of just over 1,000 people came together to help, from the grocery store opening its doors in the middle of the night, to residents opening up their living rooms and campgrounds. He himself spent some time directing traffic as hundreds of people began arriving in the dark.
"It takes a village," he said.
But even with that generosity, there is limited space in Valemount and by 4:35 a.m. MT a notice on the municipality of Jasper's website was posted telling evacuees that the community was full.
Day-long drives ahead for some evacuees
While drivers are being asked to stop and rest as needed, those seeking official support from the Alberta government are being directed to two emergency reception centres in Grande Prairie and Calgary.
That means many more hours of driving, as people take Highway 16 through Prince George to head to Grande Prairie — a more than 900-kilometre drive — or head to Calgary via Kamloops, a journey of more than 1,000 kilometres.
Communities on the road say they are prepared to help evacuees in any way they can.
In Prince George, the city said an emergency reception centre, already set up to take evacuees from wildfires burning in B.C., had welcomed roughly 100 evacuees from Jasper overnight, and a space had been set up for more to "rest and refresh" before moving on, either to reception centres in Alberta or to private lodging elsewhere.
In Facebook groups, residents posted offers of room, food and other donations.
In Clearwater, along Highway 5 north of Kamloops, Mayor Merlin Blackwell said although hotel rooms are full, the local tourism association has been putting together a list of resources available for people passing through. Businesses have opened early to make sure people have access to food, bathrooms and other essentials.
"People seem to be organically finding people to [help]," he said.
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Goal is to provide 'safe passage'
Blackwell was interviewed on CBC's The Early Edition alongside Emergency Management Minister Ma, who said she was "incredibly grateful" for the offers of help that had been streaming in from British Columbians.
Ma said the Alberta government is directing evacuees back to Calgary and Grande Prairie, so B.C.'s primary focus is to "provide them safe passage" and "provide them whatever support we can as British Columbians."
RELATED: Wildfire threatening Jasper National Park and town prompts evacuation order
She noted many of the communities welcoming evacuees from Alberta were already dealing with the fallout from more than 350 wildfires burning in B.C., which have put thousands on evacuation alert and forced hundreds from their homes.
"The reality is that British Columbia is already facing its own wildfire situation and with tourism season and our own evacuees, accommodations are limited, which is why Alberta is directing people to go loop back to Alberta where they can provide longer-term support," Ma said.
"These are challenging times."
Alberta officials shared the same message at a news conference Tuesday morning, with Stephen Lacroix, deputy minister of Alberta's emergency management agency, saying that while B.C. had been "very gracious in facilitating the movement of Albertans," the province simply had "no capacity to house Albertans" at this time.
Back in Valemount, though, volunteers said they were ready to help as much as they could.
"I've got probably about 24 people sleeping on the floor from various countries and a few Jasper locals," said Pete Pearson, a village councillor and president of the local legion, which opened its doors to evacuees.
Pearson said the community is ready to host as many people as it can handle.
"It's going to be a challenge but several organizations are stepping up," he said. "I'll cook pancakes until I run out."
Thumbnail image of the River Valley wildfire near Williams Lake, B.C, courtesy of the B.C. Wildfire Service.
This article was originally written by Andrew Kurjata and published for CBC News on Tuesday, July 23. It also contains files from Carolina de Ryk, the Early Edition, CBC NewsNet and CBC Edmonton.
