Dangerous wildfires forced a town and a large national park in the Canadian province of Alberta to evacuate overnight Monday.
Evacuation orders were issued around 10 p.m. for “everyone” in Jasper and Jasper National Park, according to the province. emergency alert system. On Tuesday night, the park said on Facebook the evacuation of the city was complete.
Authorities were still trying to evacuate hikers from the interior, the post added.
At least two fires are burning in Jasper National Park, which has been closed Tuesday. Jasper National Park is one of the largest in Canada most popular parks and attracted almost 2.5 million visitors last year, according to Parks Canada.
The city has a population of about 4,100 and there were about 10,000 people, including seasonal workers, in Jasper and 15,000 park visitors when the evacuation was ordered, Stephen Lacroix of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency told the Associated Press. Officers would go to each residence to enforce the evacuation order, Lacroix said.
One fire burned 6,750 hectares (16,679 acres), while the other fire burned 270 hectares (667 acres), according to the park’s Facebook post.
“At this time, it is not possible to return to Jasper,” park officials said on Facebook, responding to people asking about getting back to get their belongings. “The City of Jasper and Jasper National Park remain closed and it is crucial to comply with the evacuation order.”
Evacuees fled in the darkness on Monday, with little time to prepare.
The initial stages of the evacuation were complicated by the location of the fires, which forced most traffic west toward British Columbia on the region’s Highway 16. In the early morning hours of Tuesday, some traffic was allowed to proceed east.
“Only when road fire conditions permit will small groups of escorted vehicles be directed east on Highway 16,” an emergency alert stated.
Authorities in neighboring British Columbia quickly mobilized to support the evacuees.
“BC communities large and small along (evacuation) routes are doing what we can to open gas stations, direct people to rest areas, open welcome centers and provide support,” Bowinn Ma, Minister of British Columbia Emergency Management and Climate Preparedness, posted on social media in the early hours of Tuesday.
The wildfires are some of at least 170 fires that have burned across the province of Alberta amid worsening fire activity in recent days.
Canada raised the country’s national wildfire preparedness level to the highest level last Monday. This means that the “potential for the emergence of significant forest fires is extremely high”, according to the Canadian Interagency Wildfire Center.
Firefighters were expecting rain Tuesday in the Jasper evacuation zone, as any wet weather could help control the spread of the fire. But forecasters also said there would be windy conditions – which could at times cause fire behavior to become erratic.
Wednesday will be largely dry and windy in the area before widespread showers arrive Thursday morning and steady rain arrives overnight. Depending on exactly how the fires behave early this week, fire crews could make notable progress in containment by Thursday.
Wildfires have burned more than 5 million acres in Canada this year, which is close to the end of July average. Despite millions of hectares burned, this year’s fire season is well below last year’s record and devastating season.
CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller and CNN’s Steve Almasy contributed to this report.
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