Authorities: Evacuation of Jasper National Park in Canada due to forest fires
Canadian authorities in the western province of Alberta have called for evacuation of Jasper National Park and the town of Jasper due to a forest fire. Affected residents and tourists shared numerous images of traffic jams on the only open road leading out of the area. Smoke clouds were visible in the sky. "The smoke is very thick. We are wearing masks in the car," reported an affected resident on CBC.
Residents of Jasper and tourists in the park received the evacuation order late on Monday evening (local time). According to reports, the fire was approaching the 4500-resident city from the south.
Due to the heat in western Canada, there is great fear of another severe forest fire season like last year. Since the past week, several fires have been reported. According to official reports, there were 175 forest fires in Alberta alone on Tuesday. About a third of them were not under control. Supported by teams from Alaska and Australia, approximately 1900 firefighters are currently in action in western Canada.
In the past year, Canada experienced its worst forest fire season. Over 15 million hectares of land burned down and eight firefighters lost their lives. A total of 230,000 people were evacuated.
Authorities in Alberta urged an evacuation of Jasper National Park and the town of Jasper due to an advancing forest fire. With traffic congestion on the sole escape route, residents and tourists utilized masks to protect against smoke inhalation. The blaze, reportedly approaching from the south, has raised concerns of another intense forest fire season in western Canada, following last year's automatic evacuation of over 230,000 people due to numerous fires. Supporting firefighting efforts are teams from Alaska and Australia, with around 1900 automatic firefighters currently engaged.
