Jasper National Park Fires Continue—Here's What to Know

01.08.2024 - 23:02 / cntraveler.com

Joe Urie, owner of Jasper Tour Company, was looking for coyotes in Jasper National Park when “all of a sudden this fire bursts up.” He called it in, tried to put it out himself, then got back into his tour van and told his passengers, a group of travelers from England, “we gotta go.”

Since that evening on July 22, what became the area’s biggest fire in a century has caused a wave of destruction in the Canadian national park. Around a third of structures in the Town of Jasper have been destroyed and all residents evacuated, including Urie, who filled up his 15-seater tour van and transported locals and tourists to safety. As of July 31, the wildfire remains out of control—meaning it’s expected to continue growing. Although the fires have been extinguished in the town itself, residents are still under evacuation orders and don’t know when they can return.

Beloved for its mountains, valleys, glaciers, hot springs, and abundant wildlife, Jasper National Park attracts around 2.5 million visitors a year. If you have an upcoming trip to the area, here’s what you need to know.

Currently, the entire park is closed and there is no estimated date for reopening. If you’re planning a trip to Jasper in the near future, keep an eye on the Parks Canada and Municipality of Jasper websites for updates. Parks Canada has automatically canceled and refunded all camping reservations through September 3.

Alberta Highway 16, which runs through Jasper, is closed from the Jasper East Park Gate, west of Hinton, AB to the British Columbia border. Additionally, a 93-mile stretch of Alberta Highway 93N (also known as the Icefields Parkway), and a parallel stretch of 93A (also known as the Banff-Windermere Highway), between Jasper and Saskatchewan River Crossing are also closed.

Train travel has also been impacted. VIA Rail has canceled its train service without offering alternate transportation between Jasper, AB, and Prince George, BC, until August 6 and between Vancouver, BC, and Edmonton, AB, until August 5. The Rocky Mountaineer rail-tour company has modified routes taken by their Journey through the Clouds and Rainforest to Gold Rush journeys until August 11 and is contacting ticket holders. These routes will now travel through Banff National Park instead of Jasper. Flights to the closest major airports (Edmonton and Calgary) remain operating as normal.

Just outside the park, in Hinton, known as the “gateway to the Rockies,” attractions including the Overland Mountain Lodge, Folding Mountain Brewing, and Sundance Provincial Park, known for its hoodoos, remain open.

Alberta is a big province, of which the Rockies are “just a fraction,” says Urie, who is a board member of Indigenous Tourism Alberta (ITA). The north, south, and