Jasper wildfire: Evacuees who fled national park find safety after long journey

Some wildfire evacuees who were trapped in traffic for hours while leaving Jasper National Park say they are feeling relieved to have found safety.

Addison McNeill, who is 24, says she felt stressed when she got an alert on Monday night to evacuate Jasper about two hours after she moved to the alpine town from Edmonton.

When she got on the road, she says she saw many of Jasper’s 4,700 residents exiting the town calmly along with visitors despite being trapped in gridlock and hot, smoky air for hours.

Evacuees were initially ordered to go to British Columbia but were directed on Tuesday to make a wide U-turn as that province was dealing with its own wildfires.

Get daily National news

Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News’ Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Since then, reception centres have been set up north of Jasper in Grande Prairie as well as in Calgary and Edmonton, where evacuees are being helped with accommodations.

Jasper resident Leanne Maeva Joyeuse says she feels relieved to have made it to Grande Prairie after having been on the road for nearly 20 hours but she is worried about how the wildfires will affect her town.

For the latest information on which areas in Alberta are under an evacuation alert or order due to a wildfire, visit the Alberta Emergency Alert website.

For the latest information on the wildfire status and danger across the province, visit the Alberta Wildfire website.

The latest information on fire advisories, restrictions and bans across the province can be found on the Alberta fire bans website.

For the latest on road closures in Alberta, you can visit the 511 Alberta website.

2:05 Jasper wildfire: Unique logistics of the mountain town’s evacuation

Previous Video Next Video