RCMP checkpoints have been lifted for the Jasper townsite as of 5 a.m. Monday (Aug. 19), but non-residents are still warned not to visit.
Christine Nadon, incident commander with the Municipality of Jasper, said during a media briefing that re-entry was only for residents and business owners at this time, as well as the first responders, contractors and support services that were facilitating the re-entry.
“Jasper is still not ready to welcome visitors,” Nadon said. “We appreciate your patience as we work to resume our services and rebuild our community, and we will let you know when we're ready to accommodate visitors.”
Nadon explained that the checkpoints were being lifted to allow easier access for contractors and support teams.
RCMP will still conduct patrols within the townsite, which currently has limited services and no offerings for tourists.
Nadon said they haven’t had any reports of anyone trying to enter the townsite without permission.
Officials do not know the total number of residents who have returned to Jasper, but over 800 people visited the support centre over the weekend.
Nadon reported that the Red Cross has handed out about 1,500 cleaning buckets, which are available at the Re-Entry Support Centre in Commemoration Park at the centre of town.
She reminded residents with fenced-off properties to sign up with Team Rubicon, who are qualified to enter these hazardous areas. Around 165 property owners have registered for the service.
Around 670 people stopped by the support centre to meet with insurance companies, and crews have so far picked up 500 appliances such as contaminated fridges and freezers.
Highway 16 fully reopened
Highway 16, also known as the Yellowhead Highway, is now open 24/7 rather than just during daylight hours.
Motorists are still not allowed to stop along the highway and must proceed directly through the park.
Highway 93N, also called the Icefields Parkway, is still closed between the townsite and the Columbia Icefield, which can be accessed from the south through Banff National Park.
“We’re doing some final works on that parkway to ensure that we can get it open the next, hopefully, two to three days,” said Alan Fehr, superintendent of the Jasper National Park.
Fehr said crews still had to clean up debris from the parkway, complete assessing damaged trees and deal with regulatory signs that were destroyed.
“We understand that the Icefields Parkway is an important route for many residents, many business operators and that will be a high priority for us,” he added.
Parks Canada is also working on reopening the Patricia Lake area just west of the Jasper townsite, and Miette Hot Springs reopened on Sunday (Aug. 18).
The Jasper Wildfire Complex is around 32,000 hectares and is classified as “being” held.
“We’ve been fortunate that the weather over the last number of days have been cool and rainy at times, so we can make some really good progress, and that allows us to change the rating to ‘held’,” Fehr said.
Reception centres
The reception centre in Grande Prairie will soon be merging with the Edmonton Reception Centre.
The Municipality of Jasper says transportation will be arranged to help over Jasper residents still in Grande Prairie to Edmonton. The Grande Prairie Reception Centre will be open until Saturday, Aug. 24.
Those who have already registered with the Grande Prairie Reception Centre will be sent details directly.
Tuesday (Aug. 20) will be the last day for residents to register and secure transportation to the Edmonton Reception Centre. The Grande Prairie Reception Centre can be contacted at 1-780-830-5002.
The Edmonton and Calgary reception centres remain unaffected and will continue to support Jasperites.
The municipality is also arranging for buses to stop at reception centres to pick up residents who were evacuated but do not have transportation.
