Jasper wildfire evacuees told to U-turn away from B.C., head to Alberta

The Canadian Press in The Northern View
July 23, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Thousands of wildfire evacuees forced from Jasper National Park into British Columbia along smoke-choked mountain roads Monday night were directed Tuesday to make a wide U-turn and head home if they needed a place to stay. Alberta fire officials said B.C. has its hands full with its own wildfires and evacuations. “The issue is the severity of wildfire activity and evacuations in B.C. proper,” Stephen Lacroix, managing director of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, told reporters during a video conference. “They had no capacity to house Albertans.” …Everyone in Jasper National Park — tourists, hikers, campers, boaters — along with 4,700 residents of the Jasper townsite were ordered out late Monday night as wildfires pinched off escape routes to the east and south. The result was a long, slow-moving line of cars and trucks heading west through the mountains to B.C. in darkness, swirling smoke, soot and ash.

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