A fast-moving wildfire has hit the town of Jasper in the Canadian Rockies, causing “significant” losses as firefighters work to hold back the flames.
Located about 370km (230 miles) west of Edmonton in the province of Alberta, the park and the town of Jasper, home to 4,700 residents, draw more than two million tourists annually.
Thousands of people were evacuated from the area earlier this week as two blazes edged closer.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told reporters that authorities were seeing “potentially 30 percent to 50 percent structural damage” in Jasper, which would incur a “significant rebuild”.
The blaze is one of hundreds ravaging Alberta and the neighbouring province of British Columbia, fuelled by a weeks-long heatwave and surge in lightning strikes.
Officials said the flames in Jasper reached a height of 122 metres (400 feet) and moved at 15 metres (50 feet) a minute.
Canada saw its most intense fire season on record in 2023, with more than 6,600 wildfires burning 15 million hectares (37 million acres) across the country, an area roughly seven times the annual average.
There are 175 wildfires currently burning in Alberta, according to a provincial tracker, and more than 50 of them are out of control.