JASPER, Alta. — Rain has helped to slow a fire that forced the evacuation of 1,000 tourists and outdoor enthusiasts from the popular Maligne Valley in Alberta's Jasper National Park.
Parks Canada spokeswoman Kim Weir says between four and six millimetres fell overnight and more rain is in the forecast.
She says the 50-square-kilometre blaze hasn't grown and isn't expected to if weather conditions hold.
Weir says crews are now able to get on the ground and attack the flames directly.
Lightning is believed to have sparked the fire on Thursday.
Weir says no facilities are threatened by the fire and the Jasper townsite is safe.
The Maligne Valley remains closed and a fire ban has been extended to all mountain parks to include Banff, Yoho, Revelstoke, Glacier and Kootenay.
Maligne Lake itself and its iconic Spirit Island, a tiny clutch of trees surrounded by a ring of majestic mountains, three glaciers and pristine blue water, are 15 kilometres away from the blaze.
In addition, the Jasper townsite was considered a safe distance away, although Weir noted that the region was under a heavy blanket of smoke.
She said while the rest of Jasper National Park is still open for business, she warned tourists headed for the park to be mindful of the significant smoke issues in case they are a concern for people with health conditions.
Weir said the plan of attack is to monitor the fire's behaviour and if necessary, create containment lines where blazes would be deliberately set to impede its ability to spread; what Weir called "fighting fire with fire."
"Buckets of water from a helicopter aren't going to do a whole lot," she said. "If need be, we have helicopters that can bucket little parts of the fire and we can call in air tankers as well. However, the fire is large enough and in complex-enough terrain that ... we cannot get people on the ground as of yet."
Parks Canada crews were fighting the fire on Thursday and Friday, and another 40 firefighters from Manitoba were expected to arrive on the weekend.
