Wet weather lowers wildfire danger, more bus tours scheduled for Jasper

The cool and rainy weather has helped lower the fire danger across Alberta and help crews fighting the Jasper Wildfire Complex.

“We continue to see no or low wildfire growth because of these cooler temperatures and rain,” said Christie Tucker, information unit manager with Alberta Wildfire, during a Tuesday (Aug. 6) update.

“Firefighters are reinforcing the work they've been doing to contain the wildfires in the landscape.”

In addition to the firefighters, equipment and aircraft supporting wildfire operations in Jasper, Alberta Wildfire crews will assist Parks Canada with wildfire coverage in Banff and Kootenay national parks.

This will allow Parks Canada to focus resources on the Jasper wildfires.

Although experiencing cooler temperatures and some rainfall over the past two days, Jasper is forecast to get sunny weather for the next three days with temperatures in the mid-20s.

As of Tuesday (Aug. 6), 119 wildfires were burning in the Forest Protection Area of Alberta, with 15 out of control, 42 being held and 62 under control.

More bus tours scheduled

Three bus tours allowed Jasper evacuees to see the townsite and survey the damage on Monday (Aug. 5).

Two buses were from Hinton, and one was from Edmonton.

One tour will be leaving from Hinton on Tuesday (Aug. 6), and one from Valemount and another from Edmonton are scheduled for the following day.

“Further trips will be planned in the coming days based on the numbers of registrations that we receive, and we continue to accept registrations and communicate dates, times and other details of upcoming trips directly with those who register,” said Joe Zatylny, deputy managing director for the Alberta Emergency Management Agency.

Residents will not be allowed to get off the buses while inside the closed area, and tours are subject to cancellation based on wildfire conditions.

Zatylny said residents would continue to be required to stay on the buses for safety reasons, noting that crews were busy re-pressurizing gas lines, re-energizing buildings and removing debris.

“It's too early to tell if that would actually change. The plan is to make sure people are as safe as possible going into that environment with the contingencies in case we need to pull them out of there for whatever reason.”

Jasper residents can register for a bus tour online or call 310-4455.