Highway 16 opens to commercial traffic on a limited basis as Jasper wildfire continues to burn out of control

While out-of-control wildfires continue to burn and smoulder in Jasper, the critical highway route through the national park is reopening on a limited basis to commercial traffic.

Parks Canada allowed access for commercial vehicles with a gross weight exceeding 11,794 kilograms access to Highway 16 for a one-hour period (from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.) Wednesday night. 

There will be additional times available for commercial access, though the federal agency notes access can change without notice depending on fire behaviour and operational needs. The RCMP is controlling access to Highway 16 within the park in both directions.

Earlier Wednesday, the Alberta government said Highway 16 would open to limited commercial traffic within the day. 

"Government of Alberta understands this is an important economic corridor and it's a priority for us to get large trucks and tractor-trailers passing through the park again," Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis said in a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

Parks Canada decides whether to close or open the road, but the Alberta government, including the premier and cabinet ministers, have pressed the importance of getting the highway open to commercial vehicle traffic, Ellis said. 

"We are optimistic that it's gonna be within the next 24 hours to get at least the commercial vehicles going through, that will be number one," Ellis said. "And we're trying to make sure that it is at the very minimum, safe.

"There's a lot of planning that goes into this because really, quite frankly, we're still at a crisis point when it comes to wildfires … in Jasper at the moment."

Updates on when the highway will open to semis or other users will be posted to 511 Alberta and on the park's website.

The stretch of Highway 16 through Jasper has been blocked from just west of Hinton to the B.C. border since July 22, when an estimated 25,000 people fled the park with hours notice as the flames encroached on highways, showering ash and embers.

 About one-third of the structures in the townsite — an estimated 358 out of 1,113 — were destroyed when the flames moved in from the south last Wednesday, overwhelming crews.

The fire, likely sparked by lightning, is one in a cluster of three fires being fought as one. In all, they have burned more than 36,000 hectares. 

Firefighters are bracing for another challenge, as officials with Parks Canada say increasingly hot and dry weather has begun to fan the flames. 

"As expected, we are beginning to see an increase in fire behaviour as weather transitions to hotter, drier, and windier conditions," an update from Parks Canada said Wednesday afternoon. "Thundershowers and wind gusts could create challenging conditions for firefighters who continue to action high priority areas."