Crews working to extinguish Chetamon Peak wildfire in Jasper National Park

Officials with Jasper National Park in Alberta say specialized crews have begun creating fire control lines to protect a utility line that supplies electricity to the Jasper townsite.

Parks Canada says in a news release on Saturday that helicopters took off at sunrise to continue bucketing water onto the lower parts of the Chetamon Peak wildfire.

The blaze was sparked by lightning early Thursday and has grown to 400 hectares, fanned by winds and burning approximately 16 km north of the townsite.

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

The news release says winds have been blowing the fire northeast, away from the community.

Parks Canada says it will have a full National Incident Management Team in place on Sunday to provide additional emergency response capacity.

Environment Canada has issued a special air quality statement for areas around the wildfire in Jasper National Park, extending to Hinton, Alta., outside the park’s boundary.