Forest fires around Jasper, a popular tourist town, under control

"We expect all remaining fires within the town to be extinguished today," Parks Canada, the government agency that manages the country's national parks, announced on Sunday on the online service X.

The fires, which were sparked by lightning strikes last Monday, are the most serious in Jasper National Park, located in the province of Alberta, for a century. Around 30 percent of the buildings in the town of 25,000 inhabitants were destroyed by the flames.

Fire risk still needs to be reduced

All residents and tourists staying in Jasper were evacuated from the town. They are not allowed to return there for the time being; according to Parks Canada, this will only happen once the fire risk has been "significantly reduced". A total of 32,000 hectares of land have gone up in flames as a result of the fire so far.

Jasper National Park is Canada's largest national park and is known for its mountains, glaciers, lakes and waterfalls. It attracts 2.5 million visitors every year.

135 active fires

According to the National Park Service, 135 fires are still active in the entire province of Alberta, around a quarter of which are not under control. In British Columbia, the village of Slocan with 600 inhabitants had to be evacuated.

Due to the heat in western Canada, there is great fear of another severe forest fire season like last year. In 2023, Canada experienced its worst wildfire season ever. More than 15 million hectares of land burned and eight firefighters lost their lives. A total of 230,000 people had to be brought to safety from the flames.