MONTREAL, July 24, 2024 (AFP) – Authorities in the western Canadian province of Alberta have ordered evacuations of the popular Jasper National Park and nearby towns due to approaching forest fires.
An alert was sent to tourists late Monday evening in the park — famous for its mountain peaks, glaciers and waterfalls — as well as residents living nearby, ordering them to leave by 3:00 am local time (0900 GMT).
Authorities continued to issue evacuation orders Tuesday.
The alert said to use the highway heading west, as all other roads were closed.
Alberta Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis warned Tuesday that a fire was roughly 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) south of the town of Jasper, adding a fire was burning “on both sides of the river,” and that “wind may exacerbate the situation.”
As other fires continued to burn in the national park, police went door to door in the town of Jasper to make sure residents had left, while patients were evacuated from the local hospital.
Images shared on social media showed traffic jams, with the sky covered in thick smoke.
A heat wave descended on Canada last week, accentuating drought conditions, with several wildfires breaking out.
The new fires have prompted worries that the North American country could see another brutal wildfire season like last year’s record summer.
About 175 fires were burning across Alberta on Tuesday, according to official figures, with a third of them still uncontrolled.
Roughly 1,900 Alberta firefighters were at work, assisted by personnel from Alaska and Australia.