Wildfire devastates Jasper, Alberta; shuts down CN and VIA Rail service

MONTREAL — Canadian National’s main line through Jasper, Alberta — which opened briefly on Wednesday afternoon — remains shut down in the wake of a wildfire that burned at least some sections of the resort town to the ground overnight.

Firefighters were unable to contain the wind-whipped wall of fire, which quickly advanced on the town with flames 300 feet to 400 feet high, according to Parks Canada. Video from a burned out area of Jasper this morning shows complete devastation. The town’s mayor said the extent of damage across the town was not immediately clear.

Residents and tourists left town on Monday after a mandatory evacuation order was issued as two fires threatened Jasper and neighboring Jasper National Park. CN officially shut down its main line on Monday.

“The wildfire situation in Jasper is dynamic and fluid. As conditions worsened yesterday afternoon, CN suspended rail operations in coordination with the Unified Command Centre,” spokeswoman Ashley Michnowski says.

“Early reports indicate the wildfires caused significant damage to the town. We stand in support and solidarity with the community, home to many of our CN team members and their families,” she adds. “CN is coordinating with the Unified Command Centre and remains engaged with all parties responding to this incident. We will continue to monitor changes to weather and fire patterns closely.”

The closure of the main line shuts off CN’s access to the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The railway has been staging eastbound traffic from Vancouver in and around Kamloops, B.C., and westbound traffic between Hinton, Alta., and Edmonton, according to RailState, which has a network of sensors that record rail traffic.

“This emergency evolved rapidly from the first report of a wildfire start to the northeast of the town of Jasper on the evening of Monday, July 22 just after 7:00 pm, to a second fire south of town shortly after. Within 48 hours, the wildfires reached town,” Parks Canada said in an update this morning.

The fire remains out of control, the agency said, making it unclear when CN would be able to resume operations on its busiest main line.

Jasper is a popular station stop for VIA Rail’s Canadian.

VIA Rail has canceled its train service without offering alternate transportation between Vancouver and Edmonton through Aug. 2, the railway said in an advisory.

VIA Rail trains 5 and 6, which link Jasper and Prince Rupert with an overnight stop in Prince George, B.C., have been canceled as well, through July 31. Trains currently en route will not operate between Prince George and Jasper.