A wildfire engulfed the Canadian town of Jasper, Alberta on Wednesday, amid hundreds of blazes sweeping through the western provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, as firefighters fought to protect key facilities such as the Trans Mountain Pipeline, authorities reported.
Uncontrolled wildfires raging across the region include 433 in British Columbia and 176 in Alberta, with over a dozen near Fort McMurray, an oil sands hub. The pipeline, capable of transporting 890,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Edmonton to Vancouver, passes through a national park in the Canadian Rockies near the scenic tourist town, which saw about 25,000 residents evacuated on Tuesday.
Parks Canada stated on Facebook that firefighters are working to save as many structures as possible and protect critical infrastructure, including the wastewater treatment plant, communications facilities, and the Trans Mountain Pipeline. The pipeline operator did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment but confirmed earlier that it was operating the pipeline safely and had implemented sprinkler protection as a preventive measure.
In the latest update, Jasper National Park could not provide details on the extent of damage to specific locations or neighborhoods and promised further updates on Thursday. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his government had approved Alberta's request for federal assistance, deploying Canadian Armed Forces resources, evacuation support, and additional emergency wildfire resources to the province immediately, while coordinating firefighting and airlift assistance.
The town and the park, which attract over two million tourists annually, were evacuated on Monday night when officials estimated 15,000 visitors were in the park. Deteriorating air quality forced firefighters and others without breathing equipment to evacuate to the town of Hinton, about 100 km (62 miles) away, according to park authorities on Facebook on Wednesday evening. Parks Canada officials earlier anticipated rain overnight.
