Bill the barbarian Posted July 23 Share Posted July 23 Man, it really hits home when it’s your home town! Bill Edmonton·New Evacuation order issued for Jasper, Alta., due to wildfire Municipality of Jasper declares state of emergency Trevor Howlett · CBC News · Posted: Jul 22, 2024 9:10 PM MDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago Multiple wildfires in the Jasper area prompted an evacuation alert for the region Monday night. The alert was upgraded to an evacuation order later Monday. (Jasper National Park/Facebook) Residents and visitors in Jasper have been ordered to evacuate the area due to the threat of a wildfire located south of the town. "Everyone in Jasper must evacuate now," reads the order. Those in the area are advised to head west on Highway 16 toward British Columbia and follow directions from local authorities. The Municipality of Jasper declared a state of emergency due to wildfire Monday night. RCMP said that Highway 16 will be closed for west bound travel at the Jasper Park gates, on the east side. "RCMP are advising that travel is not recommended west of Hinton," reads a news release sent Monday night, adding that they are also advising people refer to 511 Alberta for updated road closure information. Many roads in the Jasper area are closed. Parks Canada posted the following list of closures: Highway 16 is closed at Highway 5. No traffic is permitted east. Traffic is permitted west. Highway 16 is closed at Highway 40. Highway 93 is closed at Saskatchewan Crossing to all traffic. Traffic south of Saskatchewan Crossing travel south. Traffic north of Saskatchewan Crossing travel north. The post says all all traffic in Jasper must travel west. 4 Quote ... remember, with a TARDIS, one is never late for breakfast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1d8+DB Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 Stay safe! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill the barbarian Posted July 24 Author Share Posted July 24 (edited) Thanks for the kind thoughts, but I am 100s of kms away. My friends (those still alive)... well, I have been in touch with a few who are ex-pats, but no one from town as of yet. They have other priorities in any case. So far the fire has not hit the town and there are no reports of injuries during the evacuation, so who knows. Maybe everyone is fine and the fire will miss the town. It has so far! Alas, I am sure my ol’ stomping grounds, cross-country skiing areas and hiking/biking trials are unrecognizable and who knows how many animals died. Sad. Edited July 24 by Bill the barbarian Quote ... remember, with a TARDIS, one is never late for breakfast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali the Helering Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 Local news and the CBC reports look far from good. Praying for a bunch of miracles🙏 and a truly effective Fire Department 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill the barbarian Posted July 24 Author Share Posted July 24 (edited) A few miracles are occurring, everyone out safe from the town (as best we can tell), and an active rescue effort on the back country trails has been reaching hikers (I believe I heard a large number... about 145*... have been brought out of the back country). Fryatt Hut and the Skyline trail were mentioned just recently. This is a shot from the Fryatt Valley looking at the awesome cloud bank of smoke from fire’s wake... White smoke billowing into the air, not far from where campers were waiting for a helicopter to get them out of Jasper National Park, on Tuesday. (Submitted by Christine Jacques) To your second point, the local forefighters are all volunteers, the pros that have been brought in are veterans from the last few years devastation in Alberta (possible Ontario... BC has its own problems) and talk is happening about bringing in the armed forces if the infrastructure to accommodate their efforts can be established. It’s all in flux. Add the pros from Parks Canada that have been doing the rescues... sounds like there a few representatives of the kind of folk who would be appreciated around here fighting the fires... Heroes! * ETA From CBC During Wednesday's news conference, Ellsworth said 245 hikers have either been picked up or helped to leave the park since the evacuation began. Edited July 24 by Bill the barbarian edited to add update 1 Quote ... remember, with a TARDIS, one is never late for breakfast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill the barbarian Posted July 25 Author Share Posted July 25 ouch 2 Quote ... remember, with a TARDIS, one is never late for breakfast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill the barbarian Posted July 27 Author Share Posted July 27 (edited) On 7/24/2024 at 3:10 PM, Ali the Helering said: Praying for a bunch of miracles🙏 and a truly effective Fire Department Not much new to say, but Ali, Jasper did get a very good firefighter in the form of Heler! There was just enough of a break in the weather and a little rain to boot to take away some of the lethal force of the two fires surrounding the town. So, a little calm, and a chance to evaluate... https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6460982 https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6459530 As I said, Jasper is still not out of the woods, but here is one of the local volunteer firefighters ... https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6460855 and a few locals talk about their memories... https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6459489 Don’t know if I am stupid or an optimist but on a whole this all sound like the best possible results at this time and this place. The inhabitants and their domestic animals are out... the tourists are safe and maybe 70% of the town still stands. Importantly, in that 70% are all the important infrastructure buildings... the schools, water treatment plant, hospital, etc. There is much to be sorrowful about but this is a great reinforcement to what we are looking at in our wildernesses futures' going forward. Even living hundreds of miles from Jasper I now have a go-bag of my important papers and meds ready for my future. Edited July 27 by Bill the barbarian 1 Quote ... remember, with a TARDIS, one is never late for breakfast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali the Helering Posted July 27 Share Posted July 27 It is a terrible situation all round, but thanks for the positive flavour of you post Bill. The wall of flame is a terrifying thing to confront, something I haven't faced in 42 years, and then it was only moorland rather than forest. Praise Heler! (Hail Hydra?) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g33k Posted July 27 Share Posted July 27 (edited) I'm down in California, and I feel this. It has only been a few years since our family was forced to evacuate (our area didn't burn (luckily)). Our "Park" fire currently stands at about 350000 acres & zero% containment, and it's just the biggest one of dozens currently burning... Hopes & prayers for your friends, Bill... and for everyone affected. Edited July 27 by g33k 1 1 Quote C'es ne pas un .sig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g33k Posted July 27 Share Posted July 27 2 hours ago, Bill the barbarian said: ... Even living hundreds of miles from Jasper I now have a go-bag of my important papers and meds ready for my future. Add a change of clothes (or two), maybe a thermos of fresh water, and some shelf-stable snacks; remember to rotate the snacks every so often, because even "shelf stable" don't last indefinitely. Quote C'es ne pas un .sig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill the barbarian Posted July 27 Author Share Posted July 27 (edited) 1 hour ago, g33k said: I'm down in California, and I feel this. It has only been a few years since our family was forced to evacuate (our area didn't burn (luckily)). Our "Park" fire currently stands at about 350000 acres & zero% containment, and it's just the biggest one of dozens currently burning... Hopes & prayers for your friends, Bill... and for everyone affected. Do note, I am cherry picking Jasper due to affiliation. There are a lot of folk in much worse shape*. California and BC (poor Lytton) have seen a few tough years, Australia back during the pandemic (OUCH!!!!) lost so much, Europe has been under heat domes with corresponding deaths and loss of forests... Any success stories there have been have been stories (if I am wrong, well I really do not want to know about it..hiding head in sand now) of cooperation. 1 hour ago, g33k said: Add a change of clothes (or two), maybe a thermos of fresh water, and some shelf-stable snacks; remember to rotate the snacks every so often, because even "shelf stable" don't last indefinitely. most important, put it to the front of one’s todo list... immediately. That point of changing snacks reminds me of a story I read (sorry, can not recall the source) of a boy, son of a miner, who grew to love a certain kind of snack that his father would put in his lunch each day. His dad worked the night shift and when he got home he would sneak the snacks into his son’s lunch bag with a nice note so it became a comfort food (an extra snack and the knowledge that dad loved him) and the snacks remained a reminder of his old man for the rest of his life. As an adult, he found out that the snacks were part of the emergency rations his dad would be given at the mine each evening when the shift started. You never know what could happen in a mine, so an emergency cache of food was a mandatory). They would be given a new pack each day so to keep it all fresh (who knew how long the miners might need them for), and the (possibly dieting) dad would keep the cache's snacks for his kid. Edited July 27 by Bill the barbarian 1 Quote ... remember, with a TARDIS, one is never late for breakfast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g33k Posted July 27 Share Posted July 27 (edited) 38 minutes ago, Bill the barbarian said: Do note, I am cherry picking Jasper due to affiliation. There are a lot of folk in much worse shape*. California and BC (poor Lytton) have seen a few tough years, Australia back during the pandemic (OUCH!!!!) lost so much, Europe has been under heat domes with corresponding deaths and loss of forests... Any success stories there have been have been stories (if I am wrong, well I really do not want to know about it..hiding head in sand now) of cooperation. For quite a few years now, California & Australia have had extensive cooperation agreements in place. Cross-training personnel, sharing resources during our respective off-season/high-season's, etc; I believe both sides are extremely pleased with the mutual endeavor. Just at this specific moment, I know that a few of our local (county) resources are off addressing crises elsewhere in the state. Edited July 27 by g33k Quote C'es ne pas un .sig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill the barbarian Posted July 30 Author Share Posted July 30 Odayla watches over his town! 3 Quote ... remember, with a TARDIS, one is never late for breakfast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nevermet Posted August 6 Share Posted August 6 The sister of a friend of mine lost her house. It stinks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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