By Fergal Smith
TORONTO (Reuters) – Progress has been made suppressing fires in the Canadian tourist town of Jasper, with the remaining ones expected to be put out by the end of the day, authorities said on Saturday.
The fires – caused by a massive wildfire that is sweeping through Alberta’s mountainous Jasper National Park – are said to have destroyed about a third of the town.
“Jasper townsite fire suppression has been progressing well, and we are anticipating that all remaining fires within the townsite will be extinguished today,” Parks Canada, the government agency that manages the country’s national parks, said on X.
“Power is being restored to parts of the downtown core and critical infrastructure today. This will speed up further damage assessment and recovery.”
Still, the status of the wildfire in Jasper National Park remains classified as “out of control,” the government agency said, adding that it is the largest wildfire in more than 100 years in the park.
The town and park, which draw more than 2 million tourists a year to this area of the Rocky Mountains, were evacuated on Monday.
There are 157 wildfires currently burning across Alberta, according to the latest update from the province. Still, that is six fewer than reported on Friday.
“Cooler, rainy weather is helping the firefighters in their efforts of trying to put out some of these wildfires,” said Melissa Story, provincial wildfire information officer, Alberta Wildfire.
“We all must be patient. We know this will take some time but rest assured good progress is being made.”
(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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