In a press release from today, Friday July 26, Alberta RCMP gave an update on the evacuation and current operations in Jasper townsite and national park.
The press release stated that RCMP members, with the support of Alberta Sheriffs and Parks Canada Wardens, safely directed traffic out of the Jasper townsite late Monday evening into early Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday morning, 20 members from various branches of Search and Rescue (SAR) Alberta helped RCMP members conducted door-to-door checks of every residence in the Jasper townsite.
Evacuation door knocks occurred between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., with 41 residences electing to stay in place. Later in the day, after their second check in, only 6 residences remained.
Eventually only one elderly couple remained, who’s health and mobility issues precluded them from leaving town independently. It took two members 30 minutes to help evacuate the couple. Their home was destroyed shortly thereafter.
Alongside the door-to-door checks, a group of Tactical Support Group (TSG) members from Sherwood Park, Parkland, Fort Saskatchewan, Okotoks, Innisfail, Lloydminster, Coaldale, and High Level RCMP detachments converged onto the townsite to help facilitate evacuations and to secure the highways into the national park.
Updated safety and security measures for the Town of Jasper
The Alberta RCMP and partners will employ a number of policing strategies to enhance the safety and security of evacuated communities during the wildfires. Those strategies include:
Restricting airspace, so that all commercial and personal aircraft, and including drones are restricted from flying in the Jasper National Park
Roving patrols where marked police car patrols will proactively move through your community actively looking for signs of criminal activities, as well as unauthorized individuals.
Quick response teams of Tactical Support Group members in place to react to any new incidents in the area.
Investigative teams from the experienced Division Criminal Analysis Section will analyze and examine reports of suspicious activity and individuals.
Crime reductions techniques will also be implemented, which includes the usage of various Crime Reduction equipment and strategies within and around the evacuated areas.
