Jasper fire chief watched as his home was lost to flames

Fire crews continue to battle the inferno, the largest in a century in Canada's Jasper National Park.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS ElectionUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessWomen at the HelmFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersJasper fire chief watched as his home was lost to flamesReutersSome homes in Jasper were burned down to their foundationsThe fire chief in the Canadian town of Jasper made the difficult decision to retreat even as he watched his home burn, in order to protect the safety of his crew.

“We had to make the call just to move out the area and let things go,” Mathew Conte told broadcaster CBC, recalling the moment last week when firefighters had to fall back as they battled the blaze tearing through the community.

Officials have said about 30% of the structures in the town in the Canadian Rockies were destroyed, many of them homes.

Cooler, wet weather offered some respite over the weekend and fire crews are working to protect the rest of the township ahead of forecasted dry conditions.

The inferno - the largest the park has seen in a century - reached the town of Jasper, Alberta, which has a population of about 5,000 people, on Wednesday evening.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz9dz562ppeo

---