Jasper is on fire :(

[Begonia]

We're all devastated.

It's breathtakingly beautiful, it's where I spent time growing up, it's what I named my youngest son. It's my Notre Dame.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

praying for rain and the safety of the people and animals

 

[Missy]

Oh no
Praying for the people and all the wildlife

 

[Begonia]

praying for rain and the safety of the people and animals

Rain is coming but not until Monday, and the fire has reached the outskirts of the historic town.
Fire is so devastating.

 

[Begonia]

Oh no
Praying for the people and all the wildlife

Thanks @missy! Fire season seems to take so much every year now. Barkerville is at risk right now too.

I think North America needs a fire response system that's jointly run as fire, and the smoke from fire, knows no borders.

 

[Slickk]

We're all devastated.

It's breathtakingly beautiful, it's where I spent time growing up, it's what I named my youngest son. It's my Notre Dame.

I’m so sorry to read this. Praying for rain for you guys up there!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

It is horrifying. We can't begin to describe how devastating it is. Spent so many vacations there....... And the smoke everywhere is brutal....

not to cheery--Sharon

 

[Begonia]

HI:

It is horrifying. We can't begin to describe how devastating it is. Spent so many vacations there....... And the smoke everywhere is brutal....

not to cheery--Sharon

Such devastation. Maligne Lodge is gone as of last night, I can only imagine what else by now.

 

[canuk-gal]

Such devastation. Maligne Lodge is gone as of last night, I can only imagine what else by now.

Watching the videos makes me cry......

 

[Avondale]

Such devastation. Maligne Lodge is gone as of last night, I can only imagine what else by now.

I watched video a guy took while driving through the streets. You could see nothing… it had all burned.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

Oh no, that's awful. 58k thousand lightning strikes, I didn't know that was possible. I'm just glad they were able to get the people out.

 

[SparklieBug]

Oh no, that's awful. 58k thousand lightning strikes, I didn't know that was possible. I'm just glad they were able to get the people out.

I read where the evacuees are being rerouted through BC in a big loop back to AB, because BC’s got so many evacuees from fires as well.

Totally agree with @Begonia that we need to have coordinated fire response across the continent. Actually, some firefighters from the southern hemisphere come here when it’s their winter, and vice versa. I also think we should adopt/adapt Australia’s system for fighting fires—to train local teams to fight fires while they’re small, to prevent turning into mega-burns while waiting for “official” firefighters.

Monday evening, a big system rolled though with SO many lightning strikes! We watched (beautiful, but so dangerous in these conditions) some that were close by. The next day, we Tuesday went for a ride in the hills, and far across the valley (it’s big vistas, here), we could just barely see the air attack going on. The planes looked like tiny mosquitoes due to the distance.

Amazing to watch the team of five water bombers come in, in fast succession, then a couple fire retardant aircraft, all under the guidance of the bird dog plane, and the air attack officer/fire boss. They were really accurate with dropping loads!

I rode there again in the evening with friends, and that fire was out! So grateful for the fire suppression crews!

ETA: My DH used to fly fire spotters around, and worked closely with the suppression team, so he provided a detailed description of what was going on. We had an amazing view!

 

[caf]

Thanks @missy! Fire season seems to take so much every year now. Barkerville is at risk right now too.

I think North America needs a fire response system that's jointly run as fire, and the smoke from fire, knows no borders.

This^^ about the smoke. Denver has had continuous ozone warnings from the smoke for like 30+ days. The smoke here is bad - I can’t imagine how it is up there. Hoping for much rain for Jasper and other places affected by the fires!

 

[Austina]

Keeping everything crossed for the safety of all those in and around the area.

 

[SparklieBug]

This^^ about the smoke. Denver has had continuous ozone warnings from the smoke for like 30+ days. The smoke here is bad - I can’t imagine how it is up there. Hoping for much rain for Jasper and other places affected by the fires!

There are multitudes of fires in WA, OR, CA, as well. I know that smoke from the above states certainly flows here on southerly winds. It's like the old "non-smoking" section of airplanes—woe betide you if your seat was right in front of the cut-off row for smoking. Ugh.

 

[Begonia]

Looks like the fire has moved on from the town of Jasper. They're evacuating the Columbia Icefields. Another natural wonder.

 

[monarch64]

So sad, and I’m so sorry for my fellow North Americans who are dealing with another fire season. I hope everyone gets through this unscathed.

 

[Slickk]

Omg, I just came across this tweet. I’m so sorry to those local …

https://twitter.com/x/status/1816494189338566866

 

[Austina]

Heartbreaking

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

I believe the Jasper Park Lodge is still standing and intact. There is a statement on their website.

cheers--Sharon

 

[caf]

There are multitudes of fires in WA, OR, CA, as well. I know that smoke from the above states certainly flows here on southerly winds. It's like the old "non-smoking" section of airplanes—woe betide you if your seat was right in front of the cut-off row for smoking. Ugh.

Exactly.