A first look at damage caused by massive wildfire that ripped through Jasper

Several government and emergency officials huddled together in Jasper, Alta., Friday afternoon, staring at what was once a basement. Charred concrete walls cradled scorched metal and ash-covered debris — the remnants of a destroyed home.

Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland's voice broke while describing his 67-year connection to the home on Turret Street. Somewhere in the wreckage, he said, was a photo of Ireland, sitting on moving boxes, with a birthday cake. His family had moved in just before his second birthday. 

"Now it's memories of family and fire," Ireland said.

"So many others are going to go through this same thing."

Ireland shared that story with Alberta's premier, the federal emergency preparedness minister and a few members of the media during a tour of the town. It's among the first glimpses of the damage wrought by a massive wildfire that ripped through the historic townsite Wednesday night.

Of the 1,113 total structures within the town, 358 were destroyed, Jasper National Park said on social media Friday.

Elsewhere in Jasper, Whistlers mountain towered beyond a stretch of torched land. The skeletons of a trailer and a four-door car are parked beside a sidewalk. A silver puddle, bubbly like a half-cooked pancake, trails from a melted car tire.

Nearby, blackened tree trunks stand like used matches. 

In a parking lot, a fire truck sprays a burning pile of rubble. Steam rises, fogging the window of a tractor combing through the debris. A sign standing on the green grass in front of the lot suggests the Maligne Lodge once stood there.

Next door, the Mount Robson Inn once stood. 

Wrecked buildings that once contained other businesses line some of the streets. The bulbs of street lamps have melted like cheese.

Afterward, back in Hinton, Alta., where the community command centre relocated late Wednesday, Ireland told reporters that the tour was helpful.

"It was every bit as difficult as I anticipated and, as it turned out, probably more useful than I had expected," he said. "I learned a lot."

Two wildfires — one north, the other south — had threatened Jasper for days, forcing thousands to evacuate as they encroached on two highways. The south fire, described as a monster with flames reaching 100 metres high, hit Jasper late Wednesday, scorching portions of the town about 365 kilometres west of Edmonton.