Devastating wildfire burns down part of western Canadian tourist town
Adds Trudeau convening an emergency meeting in paragraphs 17-18
By David Ljunggren and Nia Williams
July 25 (Reuters) -A raging wildfire has devastated the western Canadian tourist town of Jasper, potentially destroying up to 50% of structures, and firefighters were trying Thursday to save as many buildings as possible, authorities said.
Jasper is in the middle of mountainous Jasper National Park, in the province of Alberta. The town and the park, which draw more than 2 million tourists a year, were evacuated on Monday, when officials estimated there were up to 10,000 people in the town and a further 15,000 visitors in the park.
"There is no denying that this is the worst nightmare for any community," Alberta premier Danielle Smith told reporters, while choking back tears.
"We're seeing potentially 30% to 50% structural damage ... that's going to be a significant rebuild," she said, adding the fire was still out of control.
Parks Canada said there had been a "significant loss" of buildings inside the town but added it could not give specific details of the damage, or which areas had been burned and it urged residents not to return.
Video from the town showed vehicles and entire blocks burned to the ground, including a historic Anglican church.
Jasper resident Eva Korduliakova heard the news that her home was burning from thousands of kilometers (miles) away on Thursday morning, while visiting family in the Czech Republic with her seven-year-old son.
"I am a single mum who became homeless and jobless overnight," she wrote in an email. "Our house is gone. I didn't get a chance to grab any of my belongings."
Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland said the town was beginning to come to terms with "the devastating impact" of the fire.
"Last night's wildfires have simply ravaged our small tight-knit mountain community, the destruction and the loss that so many of our residents are facing simply defies description," he told a press conference, his voice breaking.
One major concern for responders is if the fire damages the Trans Mountain oil pipeline, which can carry 890,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Edmonton to Vancouver.
"At this time there is no indication of damage to our infrastructure, and the pipelines continue to operate safely," pipeline operator Trans Mountain said in a statement.
CN Rail CNR.TO said it suspended rail operations through the town on Wednesday afternoon as the wildfire conditions worsened.
The Port of Vancouver, Canada's largest, said it expected to see delays to the movement of goods through the port in the coming days due to the events in Jasper.
The federal government and other cities in Alberta are sending emergency crews. In addition, a total of 400 firefighters from Mexico, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand are due to arrive in the coming days.
'WALL OF FLAMES'
There are currently 176 wildfires burning in Alberta, more than 50 of which are out of control. Around 10 of those blazes are close to the border with British Columbia, where there are 423 wildfires burning and dozens of evacuation orders and alerts.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday afternoon he had convened a meeting of the Incident Response Group to discuss the Alberta wildfires.
"Every federal agency is coordinated, sending resources to Jasper, deploying evacuations support to the area, and reinforcing firefighting efforts on the ground," Trudeau said in a post on X.
The federal government said in April that high temperatures and tinder-dry forests meant this could be a catastrophic year for wildfires in Canada.
The Jasper fire was caused by a lightning strike on Monday afternoon and fuelled by strong winds, according to Parks Canada.
Flames from the blaze rose 100 meters (328 feet) high, and strong wind gusts on Wednesday afternoon pushed the fire 5 km(3 miles ) in less than 30 minutes, said Alberta Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis.
"Any firefighter will tell you there's little to nothing you can do when you have a wall of flames coming at you like that," Ellis said.
Environment Canada is forecasting 10 mm to 20 mm (0.4 to 0.8 inch) of rain for Thursday, which might help firefighters.
The Jasper Park Lodge, one of the largest hotels in town, said the fire had reached its grounds. The 400-room residence is run by Fairmont, a group owned by France's Accor ACCP.PA.
The Jasper fire could be one of the most damaging in Alberta since a 2016 conflagration that hit the oil town of Fort McMurray, forcing the evacuation of all 90,000 residents and destroying 10% of all structures in the city.
Reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa, Nia Williams in British Columbia and Anna Mehler Paperny in Toronto; Additional reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Aurora Ellis and Sandra Maler
면책조항: XM Group 회사는 체결 전용 서비스와 온라인 거래 플랫폼에 대한 접근을 제공하여, 개인이 웹사이트에서 또는 웹사이트를 통해 이용 가능한 콘텐츠를 보거나 사용할 수 있도록 허용합니다. 이에 대해 변경하거나 확장할 의도는 없습니다. 이러한 접근 및 사용에는 다음 사항이 항상 적용됩니다: (i) 이용 약관, (ii) 위험 경고, (iii) 완전 면책조항. 따라서, 이러한 콘텐츠는 일반적인 정보에 불과합니다. 특히, 온라인 거래 플랫폼의 콘텐츠는 금융 시장에서의 거래에 대한 권유나 제안이 아닙니다. 금융 시장에서의 거래는 자본에 상당한 위험을 수반합니다.
온라인 거래 플랫폼에 공개된 모든 자료는 교육/정보 목적으로만 제공되며, 금융, 투자세 또는 거래 조언 및 권고, 거래 가격 기록, 금융 상품 또는 원치 않는 금융 프로모션의 거래 제안 또는 권유를 포함하지 않으며, 포함해서도 안됩니다.
이 웹사이트에 포함된 모든 의견, 뉴스, 리서치, 분석, 가격, 기타 정보 또는 제3자 사이트에 대한 링크와 같이 XM이 준비하는 콘텐츠 뿐만 아니라, 제3자 콘텐츠는 일반 시장 논평으로서 "현재" 기준으로 제공되며, 투자 조언으로 여겨지지 않습니다. 모든 콘텐츠가 투자 리서치로 해석되는 경우, 투자 리서치의 독립성을 촉진하기 위해 고안된 법적 요건에 따라 콘텐츠가 의도되지 않았으며, 준비되지 않았다는 점을 인지하고 동의해야 합니다. 따라서, 관련 법률 및 규정에 따른 마케팅 커뮤니케이션이라고 간주됩니다. 여기에서 접근할 수 있는 앞서 언급한 정보에 대한 비독립 투자 리서치 및 위험 경고 알림을 읽고, 이해하시기 바랍니다.
