Canadian wildfire reaches Jasper, firefighters battle to protect oil pipeline
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Flames and smoke rising from a burning wildfire, as seen from a highway, in Canada, on July 23.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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A wildfire reached the Canadian town of Jasper, Alberta on July 24, one of hundreds ravaging the western provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, as firefighters battled to save key facilities such as the Trans Mountain Pipeline, authorities said.
Wildfires burning uncontrolled across the region
The pipeline, which can carry 890,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Edmonton to Vancouver, runs through a national park in the Canadian Rockies near the picturesque tourist town, from which about 25,000 people were forced to evacuate on July 23.
"Firefighters ... are working to save as many structures as possible and protect critical infrastructure, including the wastewater treatment plant, communications facilities, the Trans Mountain Pipeline," Parks Canada said in a post on Facebook.
The pipeline operator did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, but said earlier it was safely operating the pipeline and had deployed sprinkler protection as a preventive measure.
In the day’s last update, Jasper National Park said it could not report on the extent of damage to specific locations or neighbourhoods, and that it would provide further updates on July 25.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government approved Alberta’s request for federal assistance.
“We’re deploying Canadian Armed Forces resources, evacuations support, and more emergency wildfire resources to the province immediately - and we’re coordinating firefighting and airlift assistance. Alberta, we’re with you.”
The town, and the park, which draws more than two million tourists a year, were evacuated on the night of July 22, at a time when officials estimated there were 15,000 visitors in the park.
Deteriorating air quality forced firefighters and others lacking breathing equipment to evacuate to the town of Hinton, about 100km away, park authorities said on Facebook on the evening of July 24.
Officials of Parks Canada earlier said they expected rain to arrive overnight. REUTERS
