UPDATE: 5 p.m.
Jasper resident Kharisma De Lira Mair had less than 60 minutes to gather her belongings and escape the wildfires burning close to town.
She drove by the fire on July 22 and saw flames five minutes away from town.
“There was smoke everywhere. We could see a helicopter flying by,” she says. “It was so scary … it was so close to Jasper.”
By 10 p.m., an alert went off, telling everyone to leave town immediately.
“Of course there was chaos, everybody was trying to get out,” she says. “There were still some people confused.”
Many people asked her what was going on, including tourists and people visiting Jasper who did not get the alert to evacuate.
“I feel sorry for the tourists because they didn’t know what was happening,” she says.
De Lira Mair has lived in Jasper for nine years and tried to pack what she could.
She and two friends spent hours in their vehicle trying to get to Valemount via Highway 16.
“For one block of houses, it would take us 45 minutes to get to another block,” she says.
“It was a long journey: long lines of cars, all the cars, an exodus of all the cars.”
At 4 a.m., they decided to take a break and pull off on the side of Highway 16.
“There were so many cars passing through, so we just waited till daybreak to push through and go to Valemount,” De Lira Mair says.
“I haven’t slept. I am waiting for my body to give in."
All evacuees are being directed to Valemount by travelling west on Highway 16. Bus are then shuttling people to Calgary.
“I’m scared. I'm worried about my stuff, my house; all my stuff is in there. I only have three clothes I brought with me,” she says. “I don’t know if they’ll be able to put it [the fire] out."
Evacuees are spread out all over B.C., De Lira Mair explains, with some at campsites and others in Kamloops, Prince George and Clearwater.
“I don’t know how long we are going to stay here. We are still waiting for an update from the municipality. It’s a wait-and-see every day,” she says. “We are stuck here.”
She's paid for a place to stay and is happy to be safe with friends.
More than 17,000 people were evacuated from Jasper and Jasper National Park on Monday night, according to BC Emergency Health Services.
Meanwhile, Parks Canada says its top priority is protecting the town and community of Jasper, "limiting wildfire growth towards the town, Highway 16, and critical infrastructure."
Hikers are still being evacuated from the backcountry.
There are two fires: a south and north wildfire. The north wildfire burned 270 hectares whereas the south fire burned 6,750 hectares.
"We have been receiving inquiries from residents and visitors about returning to Jasper to collect personal items, documents, and assets. At this time, returning to Jasper is not possible," says a spokesperson.
ORIGINAL: 10 a.m.
Thousands of people who were ordered to leave Jasper overnight are being told to travel through British Columbia.
An evacuation order was issued for the entire Municipality of Jasper and also Jasper National Park on Monday.
B.C. communities such as Kamloops, Prince George, Dawson Creek and Valemount are seeing an influx of evacuees.
“B.C. will do everything we can to provide safe refuge for evacuees from Jasper and are working as quickly as possible to coordinate routes and arrange host communities on our side of the border,” says Bowinn Ma, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness.
Evacuees faced gridlock trying to leave Monday night. Videos and photographs shared online show rows of vehicles stopped.
The majority of traffic is now being directed west on Highway 16.
The Jasper townsite and the park's main east-west artery Highway 16 were caught in a fiery pincer. Fires threatening from the northeast cut off highway access east to Edmonton. Another fire roaring up from the south forced the closure of the north-south Icefields Parkway.
Emergency Info BC has launched a website with updates and directions for evacuees.
On Tuesday morning, evacuees wanting to get to Grande Prairie are being told to go toward Prince George on Highway 16 west, proceed north to Dawson Creek on Highway 97 and east to Grande Prairie.
For people wanting to get to Calgary, they are advised to take Highway 5 south to Kamloops, then proceed east on Highway 1 to Calgary.
“Small groups of escorted vehicles will be directed east on Highway 16,” says a spokesperson with the Municipality of Jasper.
Evacuees are being told not to stop on the side of the road but stop at rest stations in McBride and other B.C. communities along Highway 5 and 16.
Emergency Info BC is suggesting people arrange lodging at a campground, hotel or with family and friends.
On Tuesday morning, the Municipality of Jasper stated that the Village of Valemount has limited services and cannot accommodate more evacuees at the community hall.
People who are in Valemount currently are asked to gather at the New Life Centre at 1245 1st Ave. or the Community Hall at 101 Gorse St. Buses will then provide transportation to the reception centre in Calgary.
"This is an evolving emergency situation. Please be patient and be safe. We will provide more information as it becomes available,” says the spokesperson.
Owen Torgerson, mayor of Valemount, is thanking local businesses for staying open late to help evacuees. He also says thank you to the locals who offered their homes and acreages.
Parks Canada has mobilized resources to arrive Tuesday morning, including a Parks Canada incident management yeam and additional firefighting resources and aircraft.
Jasper National Park is working to get hikers and backcountry people to leave and evacuate safely.
If you know of anyone in the backcountry, you're asked to contact them. Ask them to remain in place at a designated campsite if possible.
Two designated reception centres have been set up at these locations:
- Grande Prairie: Bonnets Energy Centre, 10017 99 Ave.; opening at 9 a.m.
- Calgary: Shouldice Athletic Park, 1515 Home Rd NW; opening at 11 a.m.
A travel advisory is in effect for the Trans-Canada Highway between east Kamloops and the B.C.-Alberta border for 427.9 kilometres. DriveBC says the evacuation is in process and people should expect congestion and drive with caution.
Highway 16 is closed eastbound from Tete Jaune Cache to the B.C.-Alberta border due to wildfires, according to DriveBC. There is currently no estimated time of opening. The westbound lanes remain open for evacuation purposes.
With files from the Canadian Press
