Officials to announce details for ‘phased re-entry’ of Jasper after wildfire

Aug 14, 2024 | 9:39 AM

Residents of Jasper, Alta., are to learn further details today about the plan to allow them to return home three weeks after a massive wildfire forced them to flee.

Mayor Richard Ireland and field unit superintendent Alan Fehr are scheduled to update what is being called a “phased re-entry” into the town on Friday.

The town’s 5,000 residents, along with 20,000 more visitors, were forced out on July 22, just days before a wind-whipped fire roared in and destroyed a third of town buildings.

Early figures indicate the fires destroyed $283 million worth of property, which works out to a $2.2-million loss in annual property tax revenue for the townsite.