Chetamon wildfire quadrupled in size Sunday; Jasper residents could lose power

Officials are warning Jasper residents they could lose power as a result of the Chetamon wildfire that grew significantly on Sunday.

Parks Canada says residents would lose power if Jasper’s power supply is damaged. They maintain no communities are at risk.

“To prepare yourself in advance of a possible power outage, take inventory of the items you need that rely on electricity,” the parks authority said in a statement.

Municipal water and sewer services would be maintained, as well as cellular and natural gas services.

The Municipality of Jasper says it is not considering evacuating residents.

Jasper National Park wildfire. (Credit: Parks Canada/Kevin Gedling)

The blaze, which sparked by lightning early Thursday, grew from 400 hectares to around 1,500 hectares from Saturday into Sunday.

By noon Sunday, the wildfire spread to the ATCO electric powerline. By 2 p.m., Parks Canada says the wildfire began to impact power poles.

About 45 minutes later, strong winds began pushing the wildfire back into the ATCO, TransMountain and CN lines.

“Unseasonably hot weather and strong winds continue to create challenging conditions for air and ground firefighting efforts to steer this wildfire away from critical infrastructure and Highway 16,” Parks Canada said.

“Critical infrastructure protection measures in place at key places, but more aggressive wildfire activity has made it unsafe for firefighters on the ground to continue.”

Map showing area of Chetamon wildfire/ (Credit: Jasper National Park/handover)

Aerial and ground crews worked throughout the weekend to suppress the Chetamon blaze.

Parks Canada says it is preparing for any potentially significant changes in the wildfire’s spread in direction in the coming days.

There are eight helicopters dedicated to the Chetamon wildfire, which drop water on the lower slopes of the highly visible wildfire.

Seventy-seven Parks Canada firefighters and personnel are working to extinguish the blaze.