Cooler temps aiding Jasper firefight; campgrounds closed amid persisting power outage

A lightning-ignited wildfire in Jasper National Park in Alberta was estimated to be 6,150 hectares as of Tuesday morning, down from the 8,000 hectares it had grown to over the weekend.

Rain and cooler temperatures overnight enabled firefighters and helicopters to access two priority areas of the blaze on Chetamon Mountain, roughly 15 kilometres north of the Jasper townsite, according to a park official.

"Firefighters were able to lay out sprinklers and hoses in key areas on the south side of the wildfire, and helicopters made progress bucketing water on the north side of the wildfire," Jasmine Ramratan told media.

However, she noted: "We have a window of opportunity thanks to the short-lived relief in behaviour and this is expected to continue until Wednesday. Without more rain, the wildfire will progressively become more intense in the coming days."

Temperatures are expected to return to daytime highs of 25 C by the weekend.

POWER EXPECTED TO RETURN IN EVENING

ATCO was preparing to return electrical power to all Jasper residents and businesses by late Tuesday evening. The company could not provide a more exact estimate.

"As we bring on the different blocks and phases, we need to assess what that timeline looks like. So at this point, it will be late evening. I don't think we're anticipating midnight, but we will have to see how everything goes throughout the course of the day," Amanda Mattern said during a virtual news conference.

A short outage at 1 p.m. will affect infrastructure that saw service returned on Monday, she warned.

As residents regain power, they are asked to conserve their usage as much as possible.

"Generator power does not have the same reliability when powering from the Alberta grid. Brownouts and blackouts can happen, so conservation would dramatically reduce this," Mattern said.

The mountain town first lost power Sunday evening after Chetamon Fire burned several power poles that service it.

Six megawatts of generator-produced power has kept critical infrastructure – like the hospital, fire hall, traffic lights, and Jasper's emergency crisis centre – operating since Monday.

ATCO does not yet know how badly Jasper's transmission line was damaged by the fire. Parks Canada recently deemed the sites safe enough to visit and will be taking ATCO teams in to assess.

"Then we'll have a better idea," Mattern said.

CAMPGROUNDS CLOSED

Because of the power issues, three campgrounds south of the Jasper townsite and the wildfire were closed Tuesday morning: Whistlers, Wapiti and Wabasso.

"Existing back up power systems at these campgrounds are not intended to provide power for an extended period of time. The emergency power system on-site in these campgrounds only provides sewer and potable water for campers and is not sustainable over the long term," the park said.

The closures will be reassessed on Sept. 11.

VISITORS WELCOME, BUT URGED TO RECONSIDER

Aside from the power issues, the wildfire still posed no risk to the town or nearby communities on Tuesday, officials said.

As such, visitors at Jasper National Park's gates were not being turned away, but they were being encouraged to change their plans because of the limited ability of businesses like gas stations and grocery stores to operate.

"We invite those who can be flexible with their travel plans to reconsider them at this time. Please consider visiting Jasper another day when we are better able to offer the full services that you've come to expect in our community," municipal mayor Richard Ireland told media.

Already, the number of visitors in Jasper has decreased, he said, as is natural by the end of a long weekend. But the strain on the town's back-up generators makes the request more urgent.

"Once the power does start to come back on, the fewer people we have drawing on it, the better for all," Ireland said.

Situation updates are being posted on the Municipality of Jasper Facebook page, ATCO's website, Jasper National Park's social media, and 511 Alberta. As well, information is available at an emergency line established by the municipality: 780-852-6540.