Barbadians in Jasper, Canada Count Losses After Devastating Wildfires

A number of Barbadians living and working in the resort area of Jasper in Alberta, Canada, have been left counting their losses in the aftermath of week-long wildfires which have severely impacted the town.

The inferno, which started in the Canadian Rockies last weekend and led to the evacuation of more than 25 000 residents and tourists, is being described by Canadian officials as “a monster fire”.

Pierre Martel, director of fire management at Parks Canada, said in a media report that lightning, winds and drought made the fire grow rapidly on Monday, with flames above the treetops when it entered the town on Wednesday destroying more than half of the town’s structures.

News outlets said there were no immediate reports of injuries, following a mass evacuation of the picturesque resort and a neighbouring national park earlier in the week, but Jasper mayor, Richard Ireland, said in a letter on the town’s website that the wildfire “ravaged our beloved community”.

“The destruction and loss that many of you are facing and feeling is beyond description and comprehension. My deepest sympathies go out to each of you,” he said.

Among the Barbadians affected, and those who reached out to the Sunday Sun to describe the horror they faced, was Mary Stuart, who has been living in Jasper for more than a decade.

“So many people – close to 10 000 who call Jasper home – are affected. I do not know how we are going to manage – that’s me and my three children – but we will trust God in this process. We have no money but relatives home are doing their best to send money to help,” she said.

The former hotel supervisor said the family had been sleeping in their vehicle and staying at a camp site occupied by hundreds of people, until a “kind Samaritan” offered them her Airbnb for six days.

“After that we do not know what the next step will be. There is no place to go to work and the town is more or less deserted. We will be applying for assistance wherever it is offered and hoping for the best. God has been good so far and we know we can always depend on Him,” she said.

“We were on alert from early Monday around 5 p.m. and by 7 p.m. we were told to evacuate. We would usually get smoke from wildfires, so we thought we would evacuate and be back home within a few days, as it was just smoke, initially.

“The Monday night the children and I were sent to Valemount, which is about two hours away from where we live in Jasper. We didn’t get there because the line was so long. Police then managed to escort about 30 cars per interval where we passed the fire and made it into Hinton, which is about 45 minutes by car away from Jasper.”

Stuart added: “All the hotels were booked, so we were allowed to park in a Walmart car park and use their washrooms and other facilities for free. Most people slept in their vehicles that night. In the morning, we purchased tents, tarps and we went to the camp site where we slept for two nights.”

The former St Michael resident said, “Everything changed on Wednesday night when Jasper started to burn”.

Another Barbadian, Roland Griffith, said while his

workplace remained intact, the building next to it was gutted.

“While we were also told that our apartment survived the fire, there is still no way to make it back to Jasper because the bridge we must cross to get there has been destroyed. Everything is at a standstill,” he lamented.

Griffith, who moved to Jasper about eight years ago, said that even if they go back and try to rebuild their lives in Jasper, there would be no tourists to come to the property.

“Our industry is tourism. So many people who live in Jasper cater to tourists. Without a Jasper we do not have any place to work. Thankfully, the hospital is still standing, but both banks were destroyed. I am now contemplating my next move.”

Barbadian Kim Greenidge, who also works in the hotel sector, said she and her daughter have also been severely impacted.

“I am pondering my next step, but would most likely return to a camp site for the time being, before perhaps moving to a different province.

“In the midst of everything, we still have life. God has been good to us. We will seek out Government agencies for help and see where it goes, and hear what the workplaces have to say. We most likely will have to go on employment insurance – which we call unemployment benefit in Barbados,” Greenidge said.

She, too, was staying in an Airbnb, “but we do not know where to go from here”.

“I will probably apply to the Red Cross to stay in a hotel for six days. The hotels and workplaces are also offering six days in different locations.”

She said some people had already gone on to Edmonton, Calgary and Grand Prairie, as “many are dislocated right now and many are still living in their cars”.

Last Thursday, one Western Union employee in Barbados said, “Many people have been flooding our branch to send cash to relatives in Canada”.

Jasper, which is famous for hiking, skiing, kayaking and biking, is also home to dozens of species such as elk, mountain goats, cougars, lynx, black bears and grizzly bears, many of which, it is believed, were killed during the fire. (CH)