Fire, fire Jasper National Park in Canada evacuated due to forest fires

The authorities in Alberta in western Canada have called for the evacuation of the well-known Jasper National Park and the town of the same name due to a forest fire. Those affected published numerous pictures of traffic jams on Tuesday.

The latter formed on the only road out of the area that was not closed. Clouds of smoke could be seen in the sky. "The smoke is very thick. We're wearing masks in the car," reported one affected person on the CBC radio station. Residents of Jasper and tourists in the park received the evacuation notice late Monday evening (local time). According to the information, the fire approached the town of 4,500 inhabitants from the south.

Due to the heat in western Canada, fears of another bad forest fire season like last year are high. Several fires have been burning since last week. According to official figures, there were 175 forest fires in Alberta alone on Tuesday, around a third of which were not under control. Supported by forces from Alaska and Australia, around 1900 firefighters are currently working in the western Canadian province.

Last year, Canada experienced its worst forest fire season to date. More than 15 million hectares of land burned and eight firefighters lost their lives. A total of 230,000 people were evacuated.

SDA