Driver films destruction in Jasper after wildfire blazes through town

Massive, fast-moving wildfires have ravaged up to 50% of the historic Canadian Jasper town. Jasper authorities say as firefighters attempt in vain to preserve as many homes as they can.

Streets have been swept away by the flames, and video footage of smoldering rubble where homes were once erected as well as the burned car wreckage.

Cooler temperatures brought an occasional relief to the park on Thursday however, park officials said that the fires were in control, and more warmer weather was predicted.

Although no deaths have been recorded, a total of 10,000 residents and 20,000 tourists have fled the area of mountains in Alberta province. It is a well-known tourist destination.

About 36,000 acres (89,000 acres) of land have been affected so far, Jasper National Park reported late Thursday night, local time – saying that communities in the vicinity weren’t at risk.

It stated that efforts to trace the fires’ path were complicated by various factors such as powerful winds and extremity of fire and the presence of smoke.

In a press gathering on Thursday, emotional Alberta Minister Danielle Smith struggled at times to describe the extent of the destruction. She she said “potentially 30 to 50%” of the buildings were damaged.

“There is no denying that this is the worst nightmare for any community,” she declared, adding she believed that Jasper National Park had been “a source of pride” for a number of generations.

Ms. Smith was visibly emotional when she spoke about the beautiful nature of the park and its importance for the community that is largely dependent on tourism. Around 2.5 million visitors visit the park, as well as close by Banff National Park, each year.

The power, phone and rail services in the region were disrupted, CBC News reported.

Karyn Decore, who is the proprietor of Maligne Lodge in Jasper, was enjoying a vacation when she found out that the hotel was destroyed. The next night, she was presented with an image of the building that was in flames.

“I was horrified and devastated when I saw that photo,” she revealed to the BBC. “I think it’s going to take a couple of days for the shock to wear down.”

“It’s really hard for everyone to comprehend that we lost one of our properties,” she stated, noting that she was planning to build a new lodge.

BBC reporter Wendy Hurrell was in Jasper National Park when the flames started to rage on Monday. She drove all evening with her daughter and husband, in a race to get out of town.

“The storm was ferocious – the skies went dark red and there were whipping winds, fierce rain and lightning,” she added.

“We are some of the last travellers to see Jasper in its full beauty – it will be a very long time before it will recover. It’s utterly devastating for them all and my heart is breaking.”

A large number of firefighters from all over the world have been enlisted to assist with the response However, the severity of the destruction is only beginning to be revealed. The main focus of Thursday, according to them was to contain the massive flames that swept through both sides of the city.

Pierre Martel, director for the national programme for fire management of Parks Canada, said the fire was triggered by an electrical storm, and grew in size in the late hours of Wednesday night after it was sparked by strong winds.

“It [was] just a monster at that point,” Mr. Martel stated. “There are no tools we have in our tool box to deal with it.”

The flames grew to at least 100m (328ft) at the highest point in certain areas and covered “an inordinate amount of space in a very little amount of time” according to an official claimed.

Mike Ellis, Alberta’s minister for public safety, stated that the fire was located 5km (3 miles) just outside Jasper in the event that it was carried by winds into within “less than 30 minutes”.

“Any firefighter will tell you there is little to nothing you can do when you have a wall of flames coming at you like that,” he stated.

“Nobody anticipated that fire to come so fast, so large and so quickly.”

Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, thanked authorities for the emergency assistance for the blazes.

“As the heartbreaking images from Jasper emerge, I want to thank the brave first responders who are in Alberta right now, fighting to save every home and every community they can,” He said.

It’s another year of challenging fire conditions for Alberta. In 2013, a record 2.2 million hectares of land was burned in Alberta between the 1st of March to 31 October.

Outside of Alberta there over 45 active fires across British Columbia and fires are still burning throughout California, Oregon, Washington, Montana and Utah in the US.

The number of fires has declined across the globe over the past two decades.

However, scientists say that climate change is likely to increase the amount of lightning that strikes forests in the northern regions of the world, increasing the likelihood of wildfires.

With additional reports from Eloise Alynna and Ottilie Mitchell