A visibly shaken and emotional Premier Danielle Smith, often pausing through tears, delivered an update on the wildfire situation in Jasper on Thursday.
"Homes and businesses have been lost to a wildfire that people are calling a wall of flames. There is no denying that this is the worst nightmare for any community," she said. "To the residents of Jasper and those displaced far from home, looking at the images of your town on T.V. and online, the feelings of loss and fear and loneliness must be overwhelming, but you are not alone. All Albertans have been with you for many generations"
The Jasper wildfire complex is still deemed out of control, and crews are continuously working to try and protect critical infrastructure within the town.
"To the brave men and women currently on the ground in Jasper, I want to express my deep gratitude and the gratitude of all Albertans, whether you are part of the initial efforts or whether you were activated and drove in there last night or early this morning. There are not enough words to express our thanks and our wishes for your safety and your success."
Premier Smith added that the Alberta Wildfire team supported the Parks Canada Incident Management Team yesterday and they reported that the situation on the ground overnight was extremely volatile.
Minister of Forestry and Parks, Todd Loewen, explained that the Jasper wildfire is under the command of Parks Canada, though the province is assisting.
"Alberta's government will continue to lend support to firefighting operations in the region. So far, we've sent firefighters, support personnel, water trucks, a dozer group, helicopters and air tankers to assist with the response to the Jasper wildfire," he said.
The province is sending an incident management team to help assess the situation.
"I'd also like to thank our federal partners for responding as quickly as they did to our urgent request for help from the Canadian Armed Forces. We're currently strategizing the best to utilize these firefighting resources."
Late Wednesday evening, Canada's Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau stated that the federal government is deploying Canadian Armed Forces resources.
"... Evacuations support, and more emergency wildfire resources to the province immediately — and we’re coordinating firefighting and airlift assistance. Alberta, we’re with you," Prime Minister Trudeau wrote on Facebook.
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services, Mike Ellis, said that The Alberta Emergency Management Agency has helped the Municipality of Jasper request structural firefighters from Hinton, Edmonton, and 32 other municipalities, including Lake Land College and industrial firefighters from across the province.
"The provincial Emergency Coordination Center is now at a level four activation to ensure full coordination across the provincial government. Our staff helped arrange staging grounds, meeting points, and hotels for all those involved in the situation on the ground, and we continue to have field officers embedded within the local incident management team to help make connections between local authorities, first responders, government ministries and municipal resources in other areas."
Minister Ellis added that apart from the situation in Jasper, the Municipal District of Bighorn issued an evacuation order for the area east of Highway 40 and west of those land access points. The reception centre in Water Valley continues to be open to evacuees at the Water Valley Community Hall.
"The evacuation alert is also in effect for residents of the surrounding area, meaning that they should be prepared to evacuate with little notice," he added.
Christie Tucker, Information Unit Manager, of Alberta Wildfire said that currently, 176 wildfires are burning in the forest protection area of Alberta, with 54 of those deemed out of control. She said that rain in the northern half of the province has reduced some of the wildfire danger.
"We're grateful to the nearly 1,900 Alberta firefighters, contractors and support staff, who have been working hard in the heat and difficult conditions this wildfire season. We're also grateful to the Australians who arrived this weekend, and we'll be welcoming at least 400 additional firefighters from overseas in the coming days."
Tucker said that Jasper is a high-priority wildfire.
"We have aircraft, firefighters and more support staff standing by to help. An incident management team is mobilizing today and tomorrow to support that response. The loss in Jasper is felt by everyone in the wildfire family, as it is by all Albertans," she said. "We know we have a job to do and our firefighters and support staff will be out there doing it today and for the rest of the season."
Earlier on Thursday, Jasper Park officials stated there have been no reported injuries from the Jasper Complex Wildfire.
"Approximately 25,000 people were safely evacuated from the town of Jasper and Jasper National Park. All residents, visitors and responders are safe," officials shared.
They also said that the situation has been extremely dynamic, underlining that between the reports of the first wildfire to the northeast of the town on July 22 just after 7:00 pm, to a second fire south of town shortly after. Within 48 hours, the wildfires reached town.
"Jasper National Park received a small amount of rain overnight. While the rain helped reduce fire activity slightly, it is not enough to have made a meaningful impact on the overall wildfire situation, which remains out of control," officials added.
Significant structural firefighting reinforcements arrived throughout the night and have continued to assist with firefighting efforts in the community overnight and this morning.
"We are thankful to all of our partners and municipal fire agencies who have sent resources to help protect our community and national park. We also wish to acknowledge and thank all the communities who have received everyone who has been displaced by this fire."
However, officials said that due to the ongoing fire conditions their focus is on the response effort.
"It is impossible to share information about specific locations and the extent of damage at this time. As you can understand, the accuracy of this information is critical because it has a direct impact on members of the community."
It is expected that more information will be shared as soon as it is verified.
"While we understand people are desperate to know about the status of our community, homes, workplaces, businesses, and cherished places we will need some time to stabilize this incident as we access and assess structures."
Parks Canada, the Municipality of Jasper, and partners from Alberta and across Canada are continuing to respond to the emergency. In Unified Command, Parks Canada and the Municipality of Jasper continue to manage this crisis from the Town of Hinton.