Fort McMurray wildfire survivor offers advice to Jasper evacuees 

As Jasper evacuees navigate the next steps following a wildfire that destroyed many homes in the town, a Fort McMurray resident Therese Greenwood has been through something like this before in the 2016 wildfire that devastated the city.

“When people think of rebuilding their home, they think of rebuilding their own home should anything happen to it. But you’re not talking about hundreds of homes,” explained Greenwood.

Greenwood says that seeing images of the mountain town following last week’s wildfire brings back memories of her 2016 evacuation from northern Alberta. 

“Suddenly, you have 15 minutes to grab the things that are most important to you, get in your car, and basically flee the flames.”

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Saying that while Jasper residents may be anxious to get back, rebuilding will be a slow process. Greenwood says her own rebuilding process took two years. 

“If in four weeks they open up the community and people go back in, it’s going to be the people whose homes did not burn, because they have a place a stay. Whereas here in Fort McMurray, over 3,000 homes burned, there wasn’t a lot of rentals for people to stay in,” explained Greenwood.

Tuesday, Parks Canada confirmed there is still no timeline for reopening, but Monday night the municipality of Jasper released a number of criteria to be met for residents to return, including the fire no longer being deemed a threat by Parks Canada and a basic return to service for public infrastructure as well as grocery, pharmacy, and banking.