Jasper wildfire: ‘Heartbreaking’ damage as Canadian Armed Forces ordered to respond to Alberta blazes

(NEW YORK) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau authorized the Canadian Armed Forces to respond on Thursday to wildfires raging in Alberta.

Trudeau said he was sending “resources, evacuations support, and more emergency wildfire resources to the province immediately — and we’re coordinating firefighting and airlift assistance.”

More than 400 firefighters from Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and South Africa are also on their way to help fight the wildfires in Alberta, he said.

“Alberta, we’re with you,” Trudeau said in a social media post.

The town of Jasper and Jasper National Park in Alberta have closed and were evacuated due to active wildfires in the park.

Since the two wildfires were initially reported on Monday near Jasper, the wildfire situation “remains out of control,” Jasper National Park said Thursday.

Wildfires reached the town of Jasper on Wednesday evening, the park said, as firefighters worked to combat multiple structural fires and protect critical infrastructure.

“Today has been an exceptionally difficult day for Jasperites, incident personnel, and everyone who loves Jasper,” Jasper National Park said in an update Wednesday night. “As the pictures and videos circulating online show, significant loss has occurred within the townsite.”

Park officials were unable to provide an update on the extent of damage in the area.

“As the heartbreaking images from Jasper emerge, I want to thank the brave first responders who are in Alberta right now, fighting to save every home and every community they can,” Trudeau said Thursday.

There have been no reported injuries due to the wildfires, Jasper National Park said in an update Thursday morning.

More than 25,000 people were ordered to evacuate from the park and areas nearby this week due to the wildfires, officials said.

The evacuation impacted 15,000 people who were visiting and staying in the park when the order was issued, as well as about 10,000 people in the town of Jasper, including seasonal workers, according to the Alberta Emergency Management Agency.

“The Town of Jasper and Parks Canada’s priority is the safety of our staff, residents and visitors,” Jasper National Park said in a statement on Tuesday. “We acknowledge this is a stressful time and appreciate patience as this is an evolving and complex situation.”

Thousands of residents and visitors already evacuated Monday into Tuesday, as two wildfires burned in Jasper National Park, the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, the park said.

Parks Canada mobilized additional firefighting resources and aircraft to assist in battling the blazes, according to Jasper National Park.

“Our priority is to protect the town and community of Jasper, limiting wildfire growth towards town, Highway 16 and critical infrastructure,” Jasper National Park said.

Reservations through Aug. 6 in Jasper National Park have been canceled. A reopening date has not yet been announced.

Alberta is experiencing “extreme wildfire conditions,” with more than 170 wildfires burning across the province, according to the government of Alberta.

ABC News’ Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.

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