Canada battles massive wildfires

Fast-moving wildfires are feared to have decimated up to half of the historic tourist town of Jasper, Canada, with no end to the destruction in sight. A 330ft “wall of fire” surged upon the town on Wednesday, and remains out of control, firefighters said. Danielle Smith, the premier of Canada’s Alberta province, fought back tears as she estimated that 30 to 50 per cent of the town has potentially fallen victim to the flames. She said authorities have not yet been able to get close enough to assess the damage to the postcard-perfect mountain town, famous for hiking, skiing, kayaking and biking. Jasper was home to 5,000 full-time residents but approximately 25,000 people were evacuated earlier this week as the wildfire grew near. Read the best of our journalism: Subscribe to The Times and The Sunday Times YouTube channel: Find us on Facebook: