Jasper National Park threatened as Alberta battles raging fires

Forest fires threaten Canada's largest national park, Jasper National Park, in the Rocky Mountains. The fire has destroyed half of the town located there. In the province of Alberta, Canada, firefighters are battling 176 forest fires, and the fires are moving rapidly.

The situation in Canada is dramatic, and the fires are getting out of control. Firefighters from other regions are being directed to Alberta, where the devastation is the greatest.

An evacuation order was issued to residents of Jasper, which has about 5,000 residents and is an important tourist centre, this week. Firefighters have been dealing with an uncontrollable wall of fire moving forward at a speed of 15 metres per minute.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said at a press conference on Thursday that between 30 and 50 percent of the city's buildings could be destroyed.

More videos are coming online showing the massive destruction in Jasper. The fire has consumed many historic buildings. No trains are running, and life has come to a standstill.

Jasper's mayor, Richard Ireland, said that most civilians have safely left the dangerous area. "This is simply our community's worst nightmare," he told the Canadian station CBC.

"People are the heartbeat of every community. The people have been saved and that is significant. We can find a way to rebuild. We can find each other to hug again, because we all got out."

On Monday, around 25,000 tourists and residents had to evacuate Jasper National Park, located about 370 kilometres west of Edmonton in Alberta. It is one of seven Rocky Mountains parks listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites and the second-largest dark-sky preserve in the world.

The federal government and other Alberta cities are sending fire teams to Jasper. In the coming days, 400 firefighters from Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa will also arrive.

On Thursday, NASA released a simulation showing how the smoke from Canada is moving. Scientists point out that strong winds and thunderstorms also aid the rapid spread of the fire.

The fires in Alberta have also become an opportunity for Russian troll farms and their collaborators in Canada. On Thursday, a repeated post on platform X was an accusation against the federal government, claiming that by helping Ukraine, they allegedly neglected fire protection. In Canada, crisis management is primarily the responsibility of local authorities, who can request help from provincial authorities if needed, and only if the situation exceeds local management capabilities can they receive federal assistance. A few days ago, the U.S. Department of Justice, Canadian authorities, and the Netherlands reported the shutdown of a Russian troll farm spreading propaganda, and the FBI warned that Russians are using AI tools to spread disinformation.