One year after Jasper wildfire, Sask. man recalls ‘apocalyptic’ experience

It’s been nearly a year since Saskatoon’s Jarek Rhode and his friend Brandon Wicks narrowly escaped getting caught up in the Jasper wildfire.

“We went through the front entrance of Jasper and you go through that national park’s gate when you pay for your park pass. They gave us a warning that there were fires in the area, but said there was no immediate threats or anything like that. They’re like, ‘Enjoy it. The fires shouldn’t be too bad. Have a good stay,’” Rhode explained.

The two friends were on their way to Valemount, B.C., for a mountain bike trip, but decided to hang out in Jasper for a little bit before heading just over an hour down the road to their final destination.

“We stopped, went to a few bike shops, grabbed some pizza, hung out and then we left probably around two or three in the afternoon and we’re on our way to Valmount. Thought nothing of it,” he said.

Wildfire smoke is seen from the main street of the townsite in Jasper National Park on Wed., July 24, 2024. (Parks Canada/Facebook)

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Rhode said he and Brandon had a hotel room booked for when they got to Valemount, which was actually a rare move for them.

“We’re the opposite of planners, so we never book in advance. We generally pull up to towns or cities and book our hotel or campsite that moment,” Rhode said.

The two got to their hotel and checked in for the night. Little did they know, booking a hotel in advance was the smartest thing they could’ve done.

“(When we) woke up the next morning and looked outside our hotel room and the entire parking lot, the side of the highway, both gas stations, the coffee shops, everything was just overflowing with cars and people sleeping in tents in the ditch,” he said.

“It felt apocalyptic. We grabbed our dogs, went for a walk and as we’re going for a walk, we’re looking up why everyone’s here, and then find out Jasper has evacuated.

“It was crazy because the lineup for the coffee shop was like an hour and a half long. They were actually closing because they didn’t have enough ingredients for everyone – their grocery store got fully cleared out. Both gas stations just had lineups for days to get gas because you couldn’t go through Jasper. It was nuts.”

A fire truck travels past a devastated residential block in Jasper, Alta., on Friday July 26, 2024. Jasper residents who lost their homes in last month’s wildfire face unique rebuilding challenges tied to leasing provisions nearly as old as Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amber Bracken

When their trip eventually ended and it was time to drive home, Rhode said the fires forced them to take various routes.

What was normally a nine-hour drive back to Saskatoon turned into a 16-hour drive around the fires and eventually to safety.

“We were going back to Saskatoon, but since there were also fires in other areas around B.C. like Salmon Arm and Golden, we had to get completely rerouted. We’ve made this drive over 100 times and we were driving down grid roads along lakes that I’ve never even been by,” he said.

“As we were driving, Google Maps kept updating our route, saying new fires were appearing and certain routes might be closing. All of a sudden, at one point, it said 24 hours to get home.

“It was just like updating non-stop, and we were just kind of driving, hoping that there wasn’t going to be a fire on the road. Our quick drive home took a very long time.”

Support from Woodlands County has been sent to the Jasper Area according to their Facebook page. (Woodlands County/Facebook)

Rhode drove through Jasper on a different trip last week and admitted it was weird to be back.

“It’s funny because a lot of the stuff that we were walking our dogs through is now gone,” Rhode said. “It’s a little bit of an eerie feeling just kind of being back, but it’s good to see people are back there trying to thrive and make it happen again.”

Rhode said he still loves Jasper and even named his dog after the town because he loves it there so much. He hopes to go back soon.