Jasper under evacuation

Drove through there yesterday. I think we were the last vehicle through at the Athabasca Falls fire. It had just started, but very close to the road from a lightning strike. Winds were insane, knocking trees down and blowing the flames VERY fast (est 60-80mph). I'll save that pic for later in this post.

We were just on a normal trip to visit my daughter in Dunster, BC when the fires got worse and we had to hustle to evacuate them. Luckily, they were planning a short trip anyway, and were half packed (for a trip, not to move ASAP!). This is the fire the night before we left:
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And this is the fire as my wife is driving through the flames. Another 5-10 seconds and we would not have made it:


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There were sparks flying, cars stopped (and people out of their cars taking pictures!) and flames were starting to sweep across the road. Note that she was only going 65kph because it was hard to see if anyone was on the road.... I was loudly encouraging her to floor it.... ) The trees you can see still standing at the roadside went up in flames seconds after we went through.

I bet this fire started less than 20 minutes before we got there, and likely jumped the road soon after we left. Had we not made it through, the detour would have been very long. My daughter left an hour after us and is still not here (our home - the fall back rendevouz point) almost a day later. My sympathies for the folks stuck in traffic, holidays ruined or even homes lost.
 
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Wow-- thanks for posting, Vic. That was a close one. Glad to see you made it through unscathed.

This topic led me to scan through the Jasper subreddit ( reddit.com/r/jasper ) where I saw a link to an interesting NASA fire map showing the fires near Jasper... (scroll up and left a bit to get to Jasper itself)

 
Wow, glad you made it out safely. We've been fortunate that our local fires have been relatively small so far.
 
Sorry you and your family had to go through this ordeal. Glad you are o.k.

Regretfully, terrible fires are more often a way of life now and for the foreseeable future.

Fire activity in Canada: Homepage | CIFFC
 
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The city of Calgary where I live is safe ... so far. No fires close to us. Our Church Camp in the foothills has a fire close by, and evacuation plans/busses are in place but the winds are presently going the other way.... Smoke is not good here (it was way worse in Dunster with creosote - railroad ties ??-- burning in the hills.
 
glad u and your family is safe. thats terrifying. we drove next to a sagebrush fire a few yrs ago, and i was surprise how HOT that was. i cant imagine driving thru what you did. stay safe. fingers crossed.
 
Vic, that was a horrifying encounter with fire. We're glad you and your family are safe. That is so similiar to friends experiences running from recent fire storms in northern California and Oregon. Our beloved West is being reshaped by fire.
 
. . . And this is the fire as my wife is driving through the flames . . .
My daughter left an hour after us and is still not here . . . almost a day later . . .
Your wife is a cool driver; not a white knuckle to be seen.
I hope everyone got out safe.
Breathing the smoke is almost as bad.

Back in my mountaineering days I climbed along the Icefields Parkway and Mt. Robson many times. Sad to see beauty destroyed.
 
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