A wildfire that destroyed buildings in Jasper less than 48 hours after it began at least 12 kilometres away became a “monster” that firefighters were helpless to stop, says Parks Canada.
A perfectly terrible combination of conditions created a wall of fire 100 metres tall, Pierre Martel, director of national fire management for Parks Canada, said.
“It’s just a monster at that point,” Martel told reporters at a Thursday briefing. “There are no tools we have in our toolbox to deal with that. At that point, you get out of the way, you retreat and you do what you can to protect communities and infrastructure as best as you can.”
The wind, which blew as fast as 100 kilometres per hour, was relentless enough to push the flames five kilometres…
