With flames licking the edges of Canada’s largest national park, officials ordered 25,000 residents, visitors and seasonal workers to evacuate the town of Jasper; Jasper National Park and the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge have closed; and the Rocky Mountaineer train has canceled several routes.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday said the government is deploying military resources and evacuation support to Alberta, as well as coordinating firefighting and airlift assistance.
Rocky Mountaineer posted on its website that it is “unable to continue our rail journeys to or from Jasper for the foreseeable future” and is “moving as quickly as possible to work through the impact to guest itineraries,” in sequential order. It has canceled Journey through the Clouds departures on July 25: Jasper to Vancouver, July 26: Vancouver to Jasper and July 28: Jasper to Vancouver, and changed the itineraries for Rainforest to Gold Rush departures July 27: Vancouver to Jasper and July 30: Jasper to Vancouver.
“We will continue to work through other departures of Journey through the Clouds and Rainforest to Gold Rush and reach out to those guests as quickly as possible,” the company said.
The First Passage to the West route from Vancouver to Lake Louise and Banff, and The Rockies to the Red Rocks route from Denver to Moab, Utah, will proceed as scheduled.
Rocky Mountaineer also noted that a potential strike by the employees of Canadian Pacific Kansas City and Canadian National, which own and operate the rail lines on which Rocky Mountaineer travels, are facing potential strike action by unionized workers. “Rocky Mountaineer employees are not involved; however, if there is labor action, it could impact our train operations,” the company said. “Our team is working on a contingency plan should there be an impact to our rail journeys,” but negotiations are ongoing and the unions are required to provide 72 hours’ notice before striking.
Meanwhile, Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge—home to the largest golf course in Canada—said the fire has reached the property and everyone has been evacuated. But most of the lodge structures, including the main lodge, remain intact. For more information, call the Fairmont Banff Springs at 1-403-762-2211.
