More than 40 millimetres of rain over the weekend has helped wildland firefighters get a handle on the Jasper Wildfire Complex. The wet weather, which started on August 23 and continued throughout the next day, will speed up crews’ ability to extinguish deep, dangerous hot spots throughout key, acti...

On the day of a fallen firefighter’s memorial, the Jasper Wildfire Complex has been downgraded from “out of control” to “being held.” On August 17, as the family and friends of Morgan Kitchen gathered to celebrate the life of the 24-year-old firefighter who died in the line of duty, a significant mi...

As questions arise about the townsite re-entry process, community leaders are assuring Jasperites that their concerns about privacy and security are not falling on deaf ears. On Monday morning, messaging from the Incident Management Team indicated that the scheduled re-entry date of Friday, August 1...

For the most up-to-date information on the wildfire and for information and resources for evacuees, visit the Municipality of Jasper’s  website  and the social media channels of the  MOJ  and  Jasper National Park . Friday, August 16 will mark the start of Jasper’s re-entry phase. On that day, Incid...

Critical details of the staged re-entry into the Jasper townsite for residents will be available on Monday, August 12. Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland made the announcement on Saturday at an 11 a.m. (MST) media briefing. “My hope is that the knowledge of the pending announcement will provide a bridge a...

It took me some time to wake up out of the shock of the fire, to come out of a numbness. Slowly, I began to connect to survivor’s guilt: the guilt one feels for surviving an event that others did not. Survivor’s guilt can present very much like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) , with similar sy...

While some animals will die in a fire, most do not. To varying degrees, species have adapted to fires. Biologist and Jasper Local contributor Mark Bradley explains. The Power of the Burn I can’t help but get emotional when I see social media posts about Jasperites who have lost their homes, the hero...

Fire “close to being held” around townsite; emergency services beginning to come on-line As critical retail and emergency services in the fire-ravaged community of Jasper take initial steps to restart, fire fighters working the Jasper Wildfire Complex are feeling increasingly confident that the wild...

Re: Save the hot air: Decades of wildfire preparation was a success, not a failure (Editorial, July 29, 2024) Dear Bob, Hang in there and don’t let the gasbags get you down. The same thing happens in the American West after a major wildfire. The Monday morning quarterbacks distort and over-simplify....

Increased fire behaviour forces closure of highway, timeline for re-entry still unavailable A wildfire that ravaged the townsite of Jasper continues to burn out of control and recent hot, dry conditions have created more challenges for firefighters actioning the massive blaze. The increased fire beh...