Jasper’s Chetamon wildfire not likely to grow significantly: Parks Canada

Parks Canada says the Chetamon wildfire is “being held” at 6,000 hectares, and it’s not anticipated to grow much beyond the current boundaries.

Firefighters controlling the lightning-sparked blaze are now focusing on putting out hot spots on the south and east sides of the fire, the parks authority said.

“We have moved this wildfire to “being held” status,” said Katie Ellsworth, the plan section chief of the Chetamon wildfire. “Which means we don’t expect it to grow significantly beyond the perimeter given the current conditions and the current resourcing.”

Nearly four millimetres of rain fell in the Jasper area Friday night, helping the firefighters’ cause.

“So overnight the Chetamon mountain wildfire received approximately 3.8 millimeters of rain, which is the most rain we’ve had on the wildfire since it began on Sept. 1,” said Ellsworth.

“Over the last several days, with the downtrend in the weather and the cool overnight temperatures, we have seen a reduction in the overall fire behaviour.”

The rain was very welcome for firefighters still battling the flames.

“Combined with the significant effort of all the wildland firefighters on this wildfire, (it’s) allowed us to secure several of our more critical flanks,” said Ellsworth.

“For the wildland firefighters, this means that the terrain, the conditions that were previously too hot, the fire behaviour that was previously too aggressive for them to access and get close to it makes it easier for them to access those hot spots.

“Certainly there is lots of terrain within the Chetamon mountain wildfire which is not accessible. We have lots of steep slopes and lots of areas that have been burned out, so there’s lots of trees that are unstable.”

Related Article: Parks Canada not expecting Chetamon wildfire to grow past 6,000 hectares

Currently, there are 90 firefighters and five helicopters involved in battling the Jasper wildfire.

“So as always firefighter safety is paramount to us,” added Ellsworth. “But the change definitely allows our firefighters to really dig into those hot spots and really patrol our perimeters and ensure a solid cold line moving forward.”

As far as wildlife is concerned, Ellsworth says they haven’t seen any specific cases of wildlife being harmed due to the blaze.

“With a fast-moving wildfire, wildlife will follow their instincts and get out of the way. However, if the wildfire is moving quickly it could be that there is potential that some of them are unable to.”

“What was noted in some of our larger growth days was a lot of elk was moving out of the bush area into the meadow areas that weren’t burnt yet.”

Related Article: Chetamon fire continues to burn, firefighters not worried about containment

Campgrounds have been officially reopened and are safe to visit once again.

Ellsworth says they are welcoming visitors back to Jasper.

“They have opened up Whistlers campground, which is the largest campground in Parks Canada and visitors are returning to that.

“As well as since the community of Jasper has returned to a more stable power system, so we’re back onto the normal ATCO transmission lines and not on back up generator power.”

–With files from Adeline Gladu and Alejandro Melgar