Jasper wildfires: ‘Monster’ wildfire devastates historic Canadian resort town

Earlier we heard from the BBC’s Wendy Hurrell, who was at the town of Golden, on the edge of Jasper National Park, with her husband and 8-year-old daughter.

Her family was staying in a “tinder dry wood” log cabin, and after seeing the fires closing in on the area, they joined a convoy of people who were leaving.

She describes seeing people trying to box up a horse in a trailer, and the difficulties of getting fuel for her vehicle because it was being rationed by one gas station.

“There were fire engines going in the opposite direction,” she says. “People were looking really upset and worried about what was happening.”

She says her daughter took the quick departure in her stride.

“My daughter is an adventurer and a real trooper,” Hurrell says. “We decided not to tell her last night when we realised that the fire had got closer until the last minute, once we decided what to do. But there was a moment that she felt quite frightened by it.”

Editor’s note: A previous version of this post said Hurrell was leaving Jasper. It has been amended to say Hurrell left Golden, a town on the edge of Jasper National Park.