Canada Loves Jasper

Jasper train station

It seems like every day, there’s a news story about an out-of-control wildfire somewhere in the world. Last July was no exception, as Mother Nature set her sights on Jasper, Alberta.
The Jasper Fire Complex saw 25,000 people evacuated from both the town of Jasper and Jasper National Park.

The fire grew to 32,000 hectares—about the size of 45,000 soccer fields or slightly larger than the entire city of Chicago. While critical infrastructure was saved in Jasper, almost one-third of the town’s structures were either partially damaged or completely destroyed by the wildfire.

It took almost one month until residents and business owners were allowed to return to Jasper, longer still until tourists would be allowed re-entry to both the town and the park. The return of the latter has been a slow process, as Jasperites work on rebuilding their homes and businesses, whilst ensuring that workers have accommodations in town. Many essential workers are still being housed in hotels as a form of temporary housing.

Although we live three provinces away from Jasper, I knew we’d be passing through it on our way to and from Vancouver. You see, my son and I were taking the train to Vancouver to visit family. Jasper has always been a popular stop for passengers on Via Rail’s Canadian sleeper train, especially since it’s a service and restocking stop for the train. But that all came to a crashing halt in July. All trains suspended service through Jasper during and immediately after the Jasper fire. For the passenger train that normally travelled between Vancouver, BC, and Toronto, Ontario, service was only available on the portion east of Jasper—between Edmonton, Alberta, and Toronto. Passenger rail service resumed in early August, though passengers were not permitted to disembark in Jasper for the next few months.

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View of Jasper from the train

Our trip through Alberta was in late November/early December, and by then, passengers were once again able to wander around the town during the service stop. So we took advantage of our brief time there to support some of the local businesses.

Shopping in Jasper

A selection of our purchases

​We arrived bright and early, at 7:30 am, on the westbound train, to a dark and frigid minus 15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit). There were only a few shops open at this early hour, and we visited a few of them to purchase souvenirs.

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On our return trip, our arrival in Jasper was at a more civilized hour—close to lunch. With the light of day, we were able to visit more shops and see more of the devastating impacts of the fire. 

We didn’t take pictures of the destroyed businesses and homes. It was a no-brainer to keep my phone in my purse and let residents rebuild in peace.
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As Jasper rebuilds and reopens, I hope more visitors will return and/or visit this special place for the first time. We love Jasper. Canada loves Jasper. And judging from the international passengers we met on the train, the world loves Jasper.