Jasper wildfire: Rain, cooler weather limiting spread of wildfires in national park

Cool and wet weather is making a difference in Jasper National Park.

The park posted a statement on X late Thursday night saying cooler temperatures and up to 15 millimetres of rain since midnight had led to minimal fire activity.

The park says due to the rainfall, fire behaviour is likely to calm over the next 72 hours.

While more rain is expected Friday, temperatures are supposed to return to the mid 20s by Saturday, which the park says will lead to an increase in fire activity.

In a post on social media Thursday night, Parks Canada officials said fire crews will “take advantage of this time” to work on fire suppression and preventing further spread.

“While rain in Jasper is a welcome sight, warm weather is forecasted and will increase wildfire activity,” they said.

Officials said the three fires presenting the primary risk to the park are now being collectively referred to as the Jasper Wildfire Complex. In all, the complex is believed to be about 36,000 hectares in size.

The townsite and park have been besieged by wildfires, with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith estimating Thursday a third to possibly half of all buildings in Jasper were burned.

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The federal government has approved Alberta’s request for emergency assistance in combating the fires, with Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan saying all necessary resources will be brought to bear on the fires.

Latest on Alberta wildfire situation (as of 4:30 p.m. on July 25)

Thursday afternoon, the Alberta government provided an update on the provincial wildfire situation.

There were 176 wildfires burning across Alberta and 54 were deemed to be out of control.

Twenty new wildfires have broken out in the province’s forest protection areas since Wednesday.

“(Alberta’s) response is focused on the wildfires that pose a direct threat to human life, communities, critical infrastructure and major industrial facilities,” government officials said in an email.

“Alberta currently has nearly 1,900 personnel, 156 helicopters and 21 aircraft responding to wildfires across the province.”

The province is receiving assistance from other jurisdictions in the form of personnel and other resources. An Alberta Wildfire spokesperson said Thursday that 100 firefighters were expected to arrive from Mexico later in the day, 200 are expected to arrive from South Africa on Friday and 100 additional firefighters are expected to arrive from Australia and New Zealand on Sunday and Monday.

“Although lightning has caused more than half of wildfires burning today, the other half are caused by people,” officials said. “Albertans are urged to prevent any additional fire starts that will add to the already extreme wildfire situation.”

Since Jan. 1, there have been 977 wildfires in Alberta’s forest protection areas, burning more than 550,000 hectares.

–with files from Global News’ Phil Heidenreich

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.

2:17 Appreciating the world-renowned beauty of Jasper amid devastating wildfire

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