Devastating wildfire burns down part of western Canadian town

By David Ljunggren

(Reuters) -A raging wildfire has devastated the western Canadian tourist town of Jasper and firefighters were working on Thursday to save as many buildings as possible, authorities said.

Jasper is in the middle of Jasper National Park, in the province of Alberta. The town and the park, which draw more than 2 million tourists a year, were evacuated on Monday, when officials estimated there were 15,000 visitors in the park.

"There is no denying that this is the worst nightmare for any community," Alberta premier Danielle Smith told reporters, saying the fire was still out of control.

"We're seeing potentially 30% to 50% structural damage ... that's going to be a significant rebuild."

Parks Canada said there had been a "significant loss" of buildings inside the town but added it could not give specific details of the damage or which areas had been hit.

Video from the town showed entire blocks had burned to the ground, including a church.

Jasper mayor Richard Ireland said the town was beginning to come to terms with "the devastating impact" of a fire that had ravaged the community.

"The destruction and loss that many of you are facing and feeling is beyond description and comprehension," he said in a letter to residents.

One major concern for responders is if the fire reaches the Trans Mountain oil pipeline, which can carry 890,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Edmonton to Vancouver.

"At this time there is no indication of damage to our infrastructure, and the pipelines continue to operate safely," pipeline operator Trans Mountain said in a statement.

The federal government and other cities in Alberta are sending emergency crews. In addition, a total of 400 firefighters from Mexico, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand are due to arrive in the coming days.

'END OF AN ERA'

There are currently 176 wildfires burning in Alberta, more than 50 of which are out of control. Around 10 of those blazes are close to the border with British Columbia, where dozens of fires are also out of control.

"Many of the wildfires we're seeing at this time of year are lightning caused and we unfortunately can't control the weather," said Alberta forestry minister Todd Loewen.

The federal government said in April that high temperatures and tinder dry forests meant this could be one of the worst years ever for fires in Canada.

Officials said that at one point on Wednesday the flames had reached a height of 400 feet and were moving at 15 meters (50 feet) a minute.

Ashley Kliewer, co-owner of a restaurant in the middle of Jasper, told the Canadian Broadcasting crop she was devastated.

"I don't think anyone will be returning to Jasper any time soon and life is not going to be anywhere near what it was - it really is the end of an era," she said.

Environment Canada is forecasting 10 mm (0.4 inches) to 20 mm of rain for Thursday, which might help firefighters.

The Jasper Park Lodge, one of the largest hotels in town, said the fire had reached its grounds. The 400-room residence is run by Fairmont, a group owned by France's Accor.

The Jasper fire could be one of the most damaging in Alberta since a 2016 conflagration that hit the oil town of Fort McMurray, forcing the evacuation of all 90,000 residents. The blaze destroyed 10% of all structures in the city and shut in more than a million barrels per day of oil output.

Fort McMurray is forecast to receive up to 65 mm of rain in the next day, according to Environment Canada.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren: Editing by Angus MacSwan; Editing by Aurora Ellis)