By Spencer Hall
The final bus provided by the Municipality of Jasper for evacuees fleeing wildfires in Jasper National Park left Valemount on Wednesday afternoon.
Since the evacuation order was issued on Monday, the Municipality of Jasper has sent over 10 buses for evacuees to get them to reception centres in larger cities in Alberta, such as Grande Prairie, Calgary, and Edmonton.
Evacuees still in Valemount looking to go to the reception centre in Edmonton have the option of getting tickets to take a charter bus via Thompson Valley Charters. The next bus will leave from the Valemount Shell station, located on Hwy 5 & Pine Road, Thursday morning at 11:30 a.m.
Incident Commander Katie Ellsworth with Parks Canada told reporters on Wednesday there is no timeline available for Jasper residents to return to their homes.
She said the south fire in Jasper National Park has grown over 4,000 hectares since yesterday evening, now totalling at least 10,800 hectares. It is roughly eight kilometres away from the Town of Jasper, while the north fire, which is about five kilometres away from town, is still about 270 hectares.
For more information about what to do if you’re impacted by the evacuation, view the post below.
