Residents return to homes after devastating blaze

'Very long road ahead,' fire chief says

- FAKIHA BAIG AND JACK FARRELL

The charred remains of the historic Anglican church in Jasper, Alta. Some residents returned to the decimated town Friday after a massive wildfire forced them out more than three weeks ago.

More than three weeks after everyone in Jasper had to flee raging wildfires through a curtain of darkness and smoke, some returned Friday morning, greeted by soot-covered tree stumps, Mounties, and long lines of orange traffic cones.

“Welcome Back” was written on a banner at the RCMP checkpoint into the Rocky Mountain tourist town.

Residents came in a sporadic line of cars, trucks and recreational vehicles. One pickup had a refrigerator in its bed. They moved along the main highway through Jasper National Park to the point where it branches off to the east side of the town.

There, police used pylons to divide the two-lane highway into three. Residents were being advised by officers patrolling the road to use the right lane to enter the town while those passing through were told to stay in the middle and keep driving.

The sky was partly cloudy and the air thick with the smell of smoke. Those driving in from the east could see swaths of trees burned to black skeletons alongside patches of green grass.

Near the east entrance to the park is the town of Hinton, which has served as the command point for those fighting the fires.