Edmonton: According to Parks Canada, a wildfire burning in Jasper National Park has grown nearly four times in size since Saturday morning.
The fire ignited after a lightning strike on Chetamon Mountain, on Sept. 1 has expanded to about 1,500 hectares as of Sunday morning, Parks Canada said on its Jasper National Park social media pages.
The fire was roughly 400 hectares yesterday.
The fire on the ground could not be accessed by the firefighters as the fire was burning on the mountain’s upper slopes. The flames were pushed by the wind into the upper slopes of the Vine Creek valley Saturday, Parks Canada reported saying.
Eight helicopters are reportedly flying over the fire to drop water on the flames, as of Sunday morning with 77 Parks Canada firefighters and personnel, pilots, and contractors, working to prevent the fire from spreading to high-risk areas, Parks Canada said.
On Saturday Parks Canada said that on Sunday it would have a national incident management team in place to assist with the response.
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