At a press event on Friday, officials gave updates on the number of homes and businesses damaged by wildfire in Jasper and announced the province’s evacuation payment policy will be expedited for Jasper evacuees.
Premier Danielle Smith was joined by Minister of Emergency Preparedness Harjit Sajjan, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis, Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen, Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland, and officials from the Alberta Emergency Management.
“It is clear, sadly, that many homes and some businesses have been lost. Our preliminary observation shows that about 33 per cent of the Jasper townsite incurred total or partial structural loss. The upside of that is that it means close to 70 per cent of the town has low to no damage,” Smith said.
“These preliminary numbers are of course better than originally expected. However, the damage is still significant, especially to those who lost their homes and their businesses.”
On Thursday, Alberta government officials estimated 30 to 50 per cent of structures in Jasper may have been burned.
“The most significant structural damage is concentrated on the west side of town,” Smith said.
Officials say that 358 of the 1,113 structures in Jasper have been destroyed, and seven were damaged. The damage mostly occurred in a residential community, and an industrial area is still being assessed.
Crews continue to protect structures in Jasper and extinguish hotspots.
Power and gas remain shut off to the town site. In the coming days ATCO will work to restore these services building by building and house by house, Smith said.
“There is a methodical process that ensures the safety of people and property and also results in a little bit of a delay before people can go home, until that work is complete,” she said, adding that reconnecting power and gas is now a priority for the response team and the work is already underway.
Telus has also been allowed entry into the town, and Mayor Ireland said he understands that all but one of the damaged communication towers have been repaired.
Thanks to Thursday’s rain and the ongoing work of firefighters in Jasper, officials have been able to appraise conditions in the town and begin planning for residents to return. No timeline for return was given – earlier today Minister Brian Jean shared that it was 28 days after the 2016 Fort McMurray fires before people could safely go home – but Smith said it is obvious it will be longer than one week, and the province is making evacuee support payments available immediately.
Alberta’s emergency evacuation payment program provides one-time payments of $1,250 per adult and an additional $500 per dependent child under 18 years for people under an evacuation order for seven or more days. This time restriction has been lifted for Jasper evacuees, who can now apply at https://evacuationpayment.alberta.ca or at an Alberta Supports office.
