Workers at Jasper's critical services return to townsite for initial damage assessment

Workers at a limited number of critical retail services, such as gas stations, grocery stores, and pharmacies, were allowed into Jasper on Tuesday to do an initial assessment of damage in preparation for resuming service.

The move is part of preparation for re-entry into the townsite after the July 24 wildfire.

Crews are also continuing to work on restoring utility services, as well as hazard mitigation and debris removal on private properties.

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Tours of the townsite are also underway for residents.

Three buses from Hinton and Edmonton went through on Monday, a bus from Hinton went through on Tuesday, and more are scheduled throughout the week.

No one is allowed to leave the buses during the tours. 

Evacuees who have been in B.C. were able to travel back to Alberta on Tuesday on Highway 16.

They were escorted by police during scheduled times and were not allowed to stop en route or go to the townsite.

Work continues on the firefight in Jasper National Park.

"The fire is still approximately 34,000 hectares. People might be wondering why can't we get an exact hectare count? It's because we're doing the mapping with a helicopter or even some of the remote sensing technologies," Landon Shepherd of Parks Canada said.

Crews are working on hot spots at Lake Edith and Moberly Bridge.

Hot spots at Pyramid Bench have been extinguished.

Members of the Canadian Armed Forces are patrolling the Pyramid Bench area to make sure there are no further threats to the community.

"We're expecting that the fire season will continue like it has for the last five fire seasons where it may extend right into early November," Shepherd said. "We're geared up and braced that we might be dealing with wildfire for as long as that."

Officials say crews spent Monday maintaining and protecting critical infrastructure inside and outside the Jasper townsite.

Structures within 15 kilometres of the fire perimeter are also being protected/have been given protection.

Structural protection that had been set up at the Miette Hot Springs has now been removed.

Cooler weather and light rain on Monday helped minimize the spread of the fire.

The rain won’t stop the fire, according to officials, but will minimize the intensity of the flames and help firefighters in their suppression work.

"If you're trying to reference how much rain the fires received over the last two days, approximately 10 millimetres. That gives us some really good relief," Shepherd said.