Critical infrastructure in Jasper has not been damaged by the ongoing complex fire, and fire crews continue to battle structure fires in the town, Parks Canada said in an update issued at 4:36 p.m.
Jasper's hospital, emergency service building, schools, activity centre, and waste water treatment plant have all been protected, Incident Command confirmed in a public release.
Structural firefighting crews remain in the town, and are dealing with fires that continue to jump from one building to another.
Parks Canada said it is clear that some homes and businesses have been lost, but that it is too early to assess the extent of the damage.
"The most significant structural damage is concentrated on the west side of town, southwest of Miette Avenue. Firefighting efforts have prevented significant damage to much of the infrastructure in the east end of town," the update reads, adding that protecting structures that have not yet been damaged is still the priority.
A number of bridges in the town and national park have been damaged, including the Moberly Bridge and the Old Fort Point Bridge. Parks Canada did not detail the extent of that damage. Bridges on the Icefields Parkway will also need to be assessed for damage, and the impacts will interrupt access to Maligne Lake and Highway 93.
Yesterday, winds gusts of up to kilometres an hour spread both the fires north and south of Jasper toward the town, and the two wildfires have merged together, Parks Canada says. The south Jasper fire was reported to be 10,800 hectares in size on Wednesday, one of the largest wildfires in the parks history. No update on the size of the merged fires has been given.
Rain and cool conditions have subdued the fire, but it remains out of control and significant work needs to be done before limited re-entry to the park will be allowed.
"The Incident Management Team is growing and working in Unified Command with the Municipality of Jasper, now supported by Canada Task Force 2," Parks Canada says.
"This is an All Hazards Disaster Response Team with diverse capabilities to support impacted communities across Canada responding to large-scale events, emergencies and disasters."
Parks Canada will provide further update on the situation in Jasper before 10:00 p.m.
