Officials said on Thursday they feared as much as half the town of Jasper, Alberta, had been destroyed by wildfires so intense they generated their own weather.
“It’s a sad day here because Jasper is such a gorgeous place,” said Mike Flannigan, a professor of wildland fire at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, on Thursday.
The town is the gateway to Jasper National Park, a crown jewel of the Canadian parks system.
At least 25,000 residents and tourists were evacuated from their homes before firefighters and emergency personnel also had to flee toxic smoke.
The mayor called the destruction “almost beyond comprehension.”That fire was worsened by a pyrocumulonimbus, or a fire-generated thunderstorm, according to Dr. Flannigan.
Persons:
Jasper, ”, Mike Flannigan, Flannigan
Organizations:
Thompson Rivers University, Jasper National
Locations:
Jasper , Alberta, British Columbia, Jasper, Canadian