Alberta’s government, in collaboration with Parks Canada and the Municipality of Jasper, is working to provide Jasper residents with an opportunity to visit residential properties lost or damaged by the wildfires. Once they have registered via the online portal, residents will be contacted with further details.
Residents interested in touring the Town of Jasper can find the registration link online at Alberta.ca/emergency. All Jasper residents are invited to register; however, priority access will be given to people who have lost their homes.
“We appreciate everyone’s desire to return to Jasper and see the state of their homes and community for themselves. Many partners have worked quickly to get these tours scheduled. Being able to return back home to survey damage is the first step to recovery and rebuilding. That is why Alberta’s government made these tours a top priority for evacuees.”
As the wildfire situation in Jasper National Park continues to fluctuate, bus tours are subject to change and will only proceed at the direction of the incident command team in Jasper and as conditions allow. To ensure everyone’s safety, initially, no one will be allowed to leave the bus while inside the national park.
Unified Command continues to collaborate on a comprehensive re-entry plan. More information will be released as information becomes available.
Mental health and social supports for people on bus tours
Mental health and social support referral services will be on site prior to the tours in order to help people prepare for seeing the disaster site, as well as on the buses and afterwards to ensure people know where they can turn for help.
Alberta Health Services and Counselling Alberta are working together to have staff at all the locations and to support all residents needing psychosocial support at this difficult time. All evacuees can access mental health supports by calling 211.