This is the first firefighter death in the country during the current fire season. Eight people had lost their lives during the historic 2023 wildfire season.
The young man, who was originally from Calgary, was “seriously injured” when he was crushed by a falling tree and succumbed to his injuries after being airlifted to hospital, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.
“I am heartbroken to hear that a firefighter has lost his life fighting the Jasper wildfires,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said via X.
Yesterday morning, a memorial gathering was held in the nearby town of Hinton, attended mainly by his colleagues.
“The incident highlights the dangerous nature of fighting wildfires,” authorities said in a statement, stressing that “the community of wildfires is small and each loss has a profound impact on all of us.”
His death is being investigated by the provincial agency responsible for occupational safety.
Some 700 people, including firefighters who arrived from other countries, are battling this blaze, which currently stretches over 340 square kilometers — in other words, three times the area of Paris.
The fire, which broke out two weeks ago due to lightning in an area affected by extreme drought, destroyed part of the tourist town of Jasper. It remains out of control and is considered the largest to hit the national park where it rages in a hundred years.
It could burn for months, authorities warn, in an area known as Canada’s jewel and visited by 2.5 million tourists each year.
On Friday, the highway leading into the city was partially reopened to traffic, with authorities allowing evacuated residents to go to assess the damage in specially chartered buses, conditions permitting.
The date they will be allowed to return has not yet been officially announced.
Canada fears it will experience a second consecutive year of devastating fires, as 2023 experienced the worst year in its history in this regard, with more than 150,000 square kilometers given over to flames and 200,000 people forced to urgently leave their homes.
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