Calgary mayor apologizes after some Jasper evacuees didn't receive immediate help

It's all hands on deck in Calgary as the city does its part to help those fleeing wildfires that devastated Jasper, Alta.,and support firefighting efforts for the community.

One of two wildfires that threatened the resort town raged into it Wednesday night, engulfing businesses, homes and other structures.

Residents and tourists had been asked to evacuate days earlier, and a number of those had to make a long drive around the burning highways that surrounded the community to seek refuge in Calgary, where an emergency reception centre had been set up.

That centre co-ordinates hotel placements, food allowances, and provide some basictoiletries.

On arrival, however, confusion occurred as some were temporarily turned away.

"The previous night, we'd had nearly zero overnight visitors, so we had modified our hours to close earlier in the evening," said Sue Henry, chief of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency.

"However, with the fire reaching the townsite last night, we were able to quickly adjust and reopen to any overnight travellers."

She added the centre reopened for overnight access at 11 p.m.to prepare for any late arrivals.

On Saturday, the City of Calgary said thereception centre at the Shouldice Arenawould beopen 24 hours a day until Monday, according to a release.

'I can only imagine' says mayor

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek apologized for the confusion.

"I can only imagine what it must have been like to have to rapidly evacuate and then drive 12 to 15 hours to show up here and be met with closed doors," she said.

As of Sundaymorning, 1,299evacuees have registered in Calgary.

A longtime Jasper resident says the road to Calgary was long and winding. Matthew Murray left home around 2 a.m. Tuesday.

"We slept in the car for a couple of hours then went on to Kamloops, found a hotel there. Then we came here [to Calgary] to try to get to the evacuee centre. They say 8 a.m. tomorrow. Luckily we found a place to stay," he told CBC News late Wednesday.

Murray, who works at Syrahs of Jasper, an upscale restaurant, saw a photograph that made his heart sink.

"I saw a picture of flames behind a church, and my house is basically right behind that church," he said, pausing. "I would be willing to bet my house is on fire or is already burned."

LISTEN | Jasper evacuees talkabout being turned away from evacuation centre:

Calgary Eyeopener8:42Jasper evacuees reach Calgary

We speak with a Jasper resident who is now in Calgary.

Murray fears that a town reduced to rubble may lose its charm and identity as it is rebuilt.

"There will be rebuilding and it will probably be a lot more corporate because that's where the money is," he said. "I don't think it's going to have anywhere near the same character or feeling that it's had."

A weather expert says wind is a big factor but rain in coming days could really help.

"There were very strong winds blowing over the mountains over the last couple of days or so. Basically, that's the main factor why this fire blew up the way it did, why it spread so rapidly," Kyle Brittain told the Calgary Eyeopeneron Thursday.

Brittain, a severe weather journalist, said relief could be in sight.

"The temperatures right now have cooled down to about seven degrees and showing really high relative humidity, so we have to assume it's raining out there as is forecast," he said.

"Many forecast models are showing up to 20 millimetresof rain over the vicinity of the Jasper fire over the next day or so."

Fire actually causedthunderstorm

A fire sciences expert from B.C. says the situation is tragic.

"The fire was really intense [Wednesday]," saidMike Flannigan of Thompson Rivers University.

"It generated a thunderstorm, called pyrocumulonimbus, and it generated lightning. It was similar to the Fort McMurray fire, the same sort of thing."

Wildfires, on some level, can be predictable, he said.

LISTEN | How wildfire could impact weather conditions in Jasper:

Calgary Eyeopener7:27Kyle Brittain on wildfire conditions

A check in with weather expert Kyle Brittain on the conditions impacting wildfires burning across Alberta.

"There's a recipe for a wildfire and it's a simple recipe. It applies in Jasper, it applies in California, it applies all over the world," Flannigan said.

"You need three things. Vegetation, we call it fuel. How much, what type, how dry? It was really dry. Ignition, people and lightning. Then weather, hot dry, windy weather. There has been an incredible stretch of hot, dry weather. Fires love to run up and down valleys."

'It's a shock'

Donny Woodcox lives just outside of Jasper.

He's still in disbelief about the scale of the damage.

"It's a shock. It still hasn't kicked in, I don't think," Woodcox said.

"We ended up going to B.C. but it was jammed up. So we turned around and went to Hinton, then worked our way here."

He said the scale of the fire was unprecedented.

"I've been up there for the last two years and we had fires but they didn't cross the road, so we didn't get evacuated."

'Everything is gone'

Erick Barrera isoriginally from Chile, buthas been living in Jasper for more thana year.

"I don't knowhow to express how I am feeling right now, because it's really hard," said Barrera.

"I am not from Canada, so I was looking for a stable job, a place to live. You know, get your own stuff, andfinally, I got this. But now everything is gone and I don't know what to do honestly."

Waited 40 minutes for gas

Alice Varshavska has worked in Jasper for a couple of years now. She noticed somethingwas wrong on Monday.

"I was at work, I went home around 8 p.m., and I saw the line going to the gas station and I thought, 'What is going on?' My tank was empty completely and I waited, I think, about 40 minutes just in the line," she said.

"There were lots of cars. Everyone from all directions. It was completely full."

Leaving belongings behind

Alexis Jones has been a resident of Jasper for roughly four years.

"It's very surreal, you didn't think it would happen so fast," Jones told CBC News.

"It's hard because you look back once you've left and you're like, 'maybe I would have grabbed that had I known I wasn't actually going to be back,' or that it might actually be gone."

LISTEN | One Jasper resident discusses what it was like to leave:

Calgary Eyeopener8:46Jasper residents evacuate

We speak with an evacuated Jasper resident now in Invermere.

Canada Task Force 2 a national disaster response team based in Calgary has deployed 19 personnel in support of fighting the wildfires in Jasper at the request of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency. The team includes emergency managers, paramedics, firefighters, fire chiefs and police officers.

"We have sent enough personnel so that we can cover both a day shift and a night shift, and they will be working around the clock in support of this emergency," Henry said.

"The team has also deployed with military food rations and tents and sleeping bags so that they can be self-sufficient if needed."