What Travelers Need to Know About the Jasper National Park Fire

Karen Gardiner
·7 min read

K. D. Kirchmeier/Getty

Joe Urie, owner of Jasper Tour Company, was looking for coyotes in Jasper National Park when “all of a sudden this fire bursts up.” He called it in, tried to put it out himself, then got back into his tour van and told his passengers, a group of travelers from England, “we gotta go.”

Since that evening on July 22, what became the area’s biggest fire in a century has caused a wave of loss and destruction in the Canadian park. In the Town of Jasper, around a third of structures have been destroyed and all residents evacuated, including Urie, who filled up his 15-seater tour van and transported locals and tourists to safety. On August 3, a 24-year-old firefighter from Calgary died while battling the wildfire.

As of August 7, day 17 of the fire, the wildfire remains classified as out of control—meaning it’s expected to continue growing. However, firefighters have been able to extinguish critical portions and recent cooler temperatures are helping to minimize the fire’s spread. Fires have been extinguished in the town itself, and plans for the return of residents under evacuation orders are taking shape.

Beloved for its mountains, valleys, glaciers, hot springs, and abundant wildlife, Jasper National Park attracts around 2.5 million visitors a year. If you have an upcoming trip to the area, here’s what you need to know.

What is open?

Currently, the entire park is closed and there is no estimated date for reopening. If you’re planning a trip to Jasper in the near future, keep an eye on the Parks Canada and Municipality of Jasper websites for updates. Parks Canada has automatically canceled and refunded all camping reservations through September 3.

“Recently there have been suggestions that Parks Canada campsites, accommodation, and other visitor offerings will be resuming regular operations on September 3, 2024, we must reiterate that this is not the case,” Mireille Kroeker, Parks Canada’s Fire Information Officer for the Jasper Wildfire Complex, told Condé Nast Traveler over email.

Campgrounds, otentiks, and other visitor offerings, including access to day use areas and trails in Jasper National Park “will be closed for the remainder of the summer season,” she says. The only exception is the Toe of the Athabasca Glacier trail (around 65 miles south of the Town of Jasper), which will open on August 9, with limited visitor safety resources.

Alberta Highway 16, which runs through Jasper National Park, is closed to non-commercial vehicles from the Jasper East Park Gate, west of Hinton, AB to the British Columbia border.

On August 9, the Icefields Parkway (93N)—accessible only from the south via Highway 11 or Highway 1—will open between Lake Louise and the Athabasca Glacier area of the Columbia Icefield. Public access on the Icefields Parkway, which travels through both Jasper and Banff national parks, will be extended from Saskatchewan Crossing to the vicinity of the Icefield Centre in the Athabasca Glacier area. However, due to limited resources, not all services on the 93N will be available. The Icefields Parkway and the remainder of Jasper National Park are still closed between the Athabasca Glacier area and the Town of Jasper.

Banff National Park day-use areas and trails on the Icefields Parkway are now open, except for Nigel Creek Trail.

Train travel has also been impacted. VIA Rail has canceled its train service without offering alternate transportation between Jasper, AB and Prince George, BC and between Vancouver, BC and Edmonton, AB until September 3. The Rocky Mountaineer rail-tour company has modified routes taken by their Journey through the Clouds and Rainforest to Gold Rush journeys until late September and is contacting ticket holders. These routes will now travel through Banff National Park instead of Jasper. Flights to the closest major airports (Edmonton and Calgary) remain operating as normal.

Just outside the park, in Hinton, known as the “gateway to the Rockies,” attractions including the Overland Mountain Lodge, Folding Mountain Brewing, and Sundance Provincial Park, known for its hoodoos, remain open.

What about other parts of Alberta?

Alberta is a big province, of which the Rockies is “just a fraction,” says Urie, who is a board member of Indigenous Tourism Alberta (ITA). The north, south, and central regions are unaffected, including Calgary, Edmonton, and the comparatively beautiful Banff National Park (143 miles from the Town of Jasper). “We have the opportunity to redirect travelers out into the province,” Urie says, recommending that visitors who need to rethink travel explore the ITA website, which highlights Indigenous-run attractions from Métis Crossing in Northern Alberta to Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park in the south.

Leslie Bruce, President and CEO at Banff and Lake Louise Tourism, encourages visitors who have planned summer trips to the area to see their plans through. She says that “Banff and Lake Louise are open for business, and there’s currently no threat to public safety or infrastructure here.”

How can you help?

In Canada, the months of May through September are the most active period for wildfires—coinciding with the peak summer tourism season. “Fire season is the new norm and that’s not right,” says Urie. That said, travelers can help minimize wildfire risks by following common sense and respectful practices. According to Destination Canada, the country’s marketing organization, this includes adhering to any fire bans or restrictions, not discarding flammable materials in natural areas, not lighting fires or using camp stoves in restricted areas, and only using designated fire pits or grills where permitted. It’s also a good idea to monitor local news outlets’ weather reports and updates on wildfire conditions in the region you’re planning to visit. Visitors to Alberta can stay informed by checking Travel Alberta’s dedicated Wildfire Status page or by downloading its Alberta Wildfire Status app.

Visitors to Alberta and British Columbia should take into consideration that, due to the fires, helicopters are in extremely high demand across both provinces. As a result, any rescue could be severely delayed, even in areas that were not impacted by the fires.

Jasper’s economy is “very tourism dependent,” says Stuart Back, COO at Pursuit Collection, which operates a number of Jasper hotels and attractions, including the Columbia Icefield Skywalk, all of which escaped the fire. One of the area’s biggest employers, Pursuit currently has around 750 team members displaced. When it’s safe to do so, the area will “desperately need visitors to return,” he says, adding that he expects that to be possible in early September, a “phenomenal time to visit the park … with the fall colors and fresh [mountain] snow.”

In the meantime, travelers can donate to the community’s recovery through the local nonprofit, Jasper Community Team Society and the Canadian Red Cross, or to Calgary-based Parachutes for Pets, which supports evacuees with pets.

What’s next for Jasper?

It’s believed that a combination of factors fueled the fire, including a three-week stretch of searing temperatures, a dried-out landscape, lightning strikes, and strong winds. Around 25,000 people were evacuated, including around 5,000 Jasper town residents who still don’t know when they can return.

Jasper Tour Company is in “limbo” right now, says Urie, but he’s looking ahead. As a Métis tour guide, Urie provides an Indigenous perspective on Jasper National Park. That includes talking with his guests about mismanagement of the natural world since Indigenous people were removed from the park, specifically how suppression of the low-severity fires that help maintain healthy forests has created a tinderbox. “The Indigenous people of these lands knew well and they used fire as a tool,” he says, adding that “we have an opportunity for a great reset.” And that’s where he and his tour guests come in. When he gets back to work, he says, “we’re coming back better than ever. And we’ve got lots to talk about.”

This article has been updated with new information since its original publish date.

Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler

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