Massive forest fire scorches parts of city in Canada

Since Monday, the fire has ravaged large parts of Jasper National Park in the Rocky Mountains in the Canadian province of Alberta, which is famous for high mountains, lakes, waterfalls and glaciers.

No one lost their lives, but 25,000 residents and tourists had to be evacuated suddenly when the fire suddenly spread.

The fire is not yet under control, but it has scorched 360 square kilometers of the national park, including between 30 and 50 percent of the town of Jasper, which normally has around 5,000 inhabitants.

Soldiers have been mobilized to relieve exhausted fire crews, and 400 firefighters from Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and South Africa have been brought to Canada to help put out the fire.

Burned out cars and houses in ruins

Thanks to drought and strong winds, the fire spread into Jasper Wednesday night, where the streets were empty after all residents had evacuated. Video from the city shows streets covered in ash, burnt-out cars and buildings in ruins.

The fire started after a lightning strike on Monday, and the flames quickly reached a height of up to 120 metres, according to Parks Canada. On Wednesday, it spread over 5 kilometers in less than half an hour due to strong gusts of wind.

Rainy weather and lower temperatures in the past 24 hours have eased the situation somewhat for the fire crews.

Climate changes

Due to lightning strikes, dried out forest and scrub and high temperatures, many other fires have occurred. In Alberta there are 170 active fires and in British Columbia 400, half of them out of control.

Increasingly fiercer and more extensive fires are partly due to climate change, which contributes to heat waves and droughts.

The authorities fear a repeat of last year’s horror summer when 15 million hectares were burnt down and over 200,000 people had to be evacuated.