Evacuees, residents won't be able to return to Jasper until wildfire under control: officials

Hot, dry conditions could cause the wildfire burning in Jasper National Park to pick up again this weekend, Alberta Wildfire says.

The fire has been extinguished in the townsite but continues to burn out of control to the south and beside Highway 16, keeping the Yellowhead Highway closed.

The park and the town are still under an evacuation order and closed to the public. There is still no timeline on when evacuees or visitors can return to the park.

Starting Wednesday, evacuees will be eligible to receive a one-time payment of $750 per household from the Red Cross.

Parks Canada has cancelled all camping reservations at Parks Canada sites until Sept. 3.

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Outside Jasper, officials are reminding Albertans to be fire-safe over the upcoming long weekend.

"Fire season is not over yet," Christie Tucker of Alberta Wildfire told reporters on Tuesday.

"Respecting fire bans is integral to wildfire response. We want to keep firefighters focused on actioning existing wildfires and not responding to new ones."

Tucker added one-third of this year's wildfires have been caused by humans.

There are currently 117 fires burning in Alberta's forest protection area, 23 of which are out of control.