For the latest updates on the Jasper wildfire situation for Thursday, July 25, 2024, read this story post.
A volunteer firefighter in Jasper is choosing to focus on the positives, after watching her family home burn to the ground amid a devastating wildfire in the western Alberta mountain town.
As thousands of people fled Jasper National Park earlier this week, first responders stayed behind to protect their community. That includes Kimberley Stark.
The owner of Bear’s Paw Bakery, Stark is also a volunteer firefighter. She remained on the ground in Jasper while her young family was forced to flee on Monday night with the rest of the town.
“My family evacuated with everybody else. I have three small children and they went off with the nanny and my fur family,” Stark said Thursday morning.
Since then, she’s be on the front lines, doing her best alongside other emergency crews to protect the town.
“It was a tough go. That fire was rolling,” Stark recalled. “This was big. It was overwhelming.”
While an eternal optimist, Stark couldn’t help but break down for a moment on Wednesday, as she watched her family home go up in flames.
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“I have a video of my house starting on fire,” she said.
Stark said she and fellow firefighters were conducting “bump and roll” around the community, which means you go around town and if you see flame and fire, you put it out.
As they were driving around, they came upon her neighbourhood.
“I stopped for two seconds as we rolled past my house and I turned on a couple sprinklers,” Stark said.
“Houses there are so tight and the problem is there are some roof types that are not necessarily great for forest fires and even if you put it out, the next ember starts it again and those roofs goes real fast. And once it gets in the eaves, we don’t have the equipment to put out every structure fire when there’s … multiple homes on fire, which is catching the next house,” she continued.
Stark said radiant heat from the houses next to her caused her own place to catch fire.
“I was pretty optimistic inside, hoping, giving myself that hope. We stopped at the corner, I got out of the truck and I ran up the street and I could see my house just starting.
“It was loud, a lot of popping off of propane tanks and other things.
“It was hot. Too hot. I couldn’t stand in the middle of the street. I ran back to the truck and basically bawled.”
While devastating, Stark said it’s not about the house.
“Jasper is community and buildings are just buildings. And I can say that not being laissez faire, because I lost my own home. It’s just a building.”
Stark describes Jasper as an incredible community where people can connect and build relationships.
“We all choose to be there because we either love what we do or we love the area. It builds a real community,” she said.
“We are small businesses that add colour and flavour and personal touch. I can go do my errands and at multiple stops along the way I can’t get anywhere because I’m so busy talking to somebody… it’s fabulous.”
While some areas of the town have been devastated, Stark said there are a lot of buildings still standing and reason for optimism.
“You’re going to see that there’s not a lot in certain spots,” she warned.
“But what I’m going to say is, don’t look at that. As a first responder, I’ve seen things, but don’t look at that… don’t focus on that. There’s nothing you can do about that. What we can focus on is what’s left.
“We’re still neighbours, our houses just aren’t there.
“I choose to focus on the positive. I’m a glass-half-full kind of person and there’s a lot of buildings left. There’s a lot of town left.”
For the latest information on which areas in Alberta are under an evacuation alert or order due to a wildfire, visit the Alberta Emergency Alert website.
For the latest information on the wildfire status and danger across the province, visit the Alberta Wildfire website.
The latest information on fire advisories, restrictions and bans across the province can be found on the Alberta fire bans website.
For the latest on road closures in Alberta, you can visit the 511 Alberta website.
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