The fast-moving Jasper, Alta., wildfire was fuelled by a web of extreme conditions that converged into what experts described as a monstrous fire, serving as a disastrous example of what’s become increasingly common across Canada’s boreal forest. What has happened in Jasper National Park is a “microcosm of what we’re seeing across Western Canada,” said wildfire risk expert and former Parks Canada wildland firefighter Mathieu Bourbonnais. More than 20,000 people in and around the Rocky Mountain townsite were ordered to evacuate last Monday. …Questions and accusations have followed, including from critics who argue Parks Canada and other government agencies did not do enough to protect Jasper. …Wildfire expert Mike Flannigan says the major drivers of the fire were a confluence of several extreme conditions. Drought in Western Canada combined with a roughly three-week stretch of hot temperatures to dry out the vegetation in the forest.