Campgrounds closed to at least September 25
Firefighters were successful in holding the Chetamon wildfire despite unseasonably warm weather and high winds yesterday (September 10).
More than 125 firefighting personnel and eight helicopters are fighting the wildfire. Most of the resources are suppressing the fire on its north end, according to Parks Canada’s Landon Shepherd, the Incident Commander for the Chetamon wildfire.
“We were quite successful yesterday at having negligible growth at the north end, with a lot of bucketing support and a lot of ground crews suppressing the fire,” Shepherd said.
No communities are threatened by the wildfire at this time.
ATCO has brought in another generator to help power Jasper’s critical infrastructure and provide electricity to residents and essential services (gas stations, grocery stores, pharmacies, banks). There are currently seven generators on site, according to ATCO’s general regional manager, Amanda Mattern.
“There is enough generation to meet the needs of the town, however, we continue to see these issues with stability, therefore we are being very cautious as we add on additional load throughout today,” Mattern said.
The Chetamon wildfire is currently 5,880 hectares. Winds are expected to pick up again today (September 11).
Firefighting efforts have allowed ATCO crews safe access to the power transmission line site for the purposes of rebuilding and reactivation.
“They’ve been having a lot of success out there, they’ve made some great progress and put up some complex structures in a really short period of time,” Shepherd said. “We’re rooting for them while we’re working with them.”
Jasper National Park’s visitor services are limited. Parks Canada, as well as the Municipality of Jasper and its tourism partners, have aligned in their messaging.
“Now is not the ideal time to visit Jasper,” Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland said on September 11.
Campgrounds will remain closed until at least September 25, Shepherd said.
“We will re-evaluate [then] to make sure we don’t put additional burden on the system,” he said. “Please do not visit Jasper at this time.”
Officials reiterated the message to residents to conserve power when and where they can. ATCO’s power saving tips include minimizing the use of high-draw appliances such as dishwashers and clothes driers, air conditioners and space heaters. Jasper lost power early this morning (2:15 a.m.). It was restored at 6 a.m.
“We anticipate intermittent outages so long as we remain connected to generator power,” Ireland said.
Starting tomorrow (September 12) firefighters anticipate a downturn in weather, assisting Parks Canada’s fire suppression efforts.
Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com
