More than 10,000 residents of Jasper, Alberta, have been forced to flee their homes as major wildfires closed in. An additional 15,000 visitors to the national park were also evacuated. Smoke and ash blocked out the sun as vehicles crowded the roads to safety.
The wildfire reached the mountain community on Wednesday evening, July 24, with reports of buildings lost.
At the request of British Columbia’s Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, we are deploying a Canadian Disaster Relief team to set up and run a 100-bed group lodging facility in the Kamloops area. The team will provide safe accommodation and emotional support for wildfire evacuees.
Your prayers and support are critical.
Places for people to stay are quickly filling up in nearby Alberta and British Columbia communities. Both provinces face the prospect of more evacuations as several severe fires burn out of control near population centers.
“Our hearts are breaking for residents fleeing these fires,” said Keith Waara, acting director of Canadian Disaster Relief for Samaritan’s Purse. “We are thankful to be able to help as many people as possible through this evacuation facility.”
Please join us in praying for the residents and visitors of Jasper during this traumatic time. Please also pray for first responders and our teams rushing to help.
We also continue to monitor the other wildfires burning across Western Canada—170 in Alberta alone—and are ready to respond quickly. Please keep these communities in your prayers.
Help Samaritan's Purse respond quickly to victims of disasters within Canada, providing not only physical assistance as people clean up and rebuild after floods, fires, and other disasters, but also emotional and spiritual support in the aftermath of tragedy.