“Now lost”: Jasper fire torching cherished memories along with forests

The black clouds billowing from the fires razing Jasper National Park hold more than the reek of charred timber and scorched earth. For thousands of Canadians and mountain-lovers around the world, it’s the smell of cherished memory going up in smoke.

“It’s a huge amount of history and memories that are now lost,” said Alexis Keinlen, an Edmonton writer who recalls the winter 2015 wedding of a friend.

Before the ceremony, the party gathered in the evening on the shores of Lake Agnes on the grounds of the Jasper Park Lodge, now at least partially burned. They clasped mugs of hot chocolate around roaring fires or laced up skates for a turn on the ice.

The dark of the lake and the clarity of the sky felt “otherworldly,” she said.

“You could see all the stars above. It felt really big.

“One of my friends gave her child the name Jasper.”

A decade ago, Kelley Ware was living in Prince George, B.C., and her now-husband was in Edmonton. Every few weeks, they’d meet in Jasper.

“It was completely fundamental to building our relationship. My husband has a tattoo of Pyramid Mountain.”

For Janet Millar, the memories go back generations.

Her great-grandfather was on a roadbuilding crew in Jasper in 1948 when he noticed that lots were going up for sale around Lake Edith. He and his wife walked around it, chose their favourite spot and the next year built the cabin that has been in the family ever since.

“It’s the smell of an old log cabin that has had a lot of bacon and pancakes and syrup served in it. It’s the sight of old furniture that no one can bear to part with,” she said.

“Everyone in my family and all sorts of friends have their own particular thing they like best. There’s so much I like about it that I can’t bear to part with.”

Social media was awash Thursday with memories of Jasper proposals, weddings and honeymoons. But the town is steeped in memory of all kinds.

There’s the generations of skiiers who have partied in the Whistle Stop pub or Athabasca Hotel, known locally as the Atha-B and a fixture since 1929. The families who carbed up for the day’s adventures at Smitty’s. The holidayers from around the world who met and gabbed in hotel hot tubs.

The worshippers at the gracious Anglican church of St. Mary and St. George, who have gathered since 1928 to praise God in the midst of some of His finest handiwork.

The classic fieldstone headquarters of Parks Canada, across the street from where train travellers disembarked to gape at the vista. The cheeky Fiberglas statue of Jasper the Friendly Bear, rubbed shiny since the ’60s by the hands of children.

The roadside greeter elk casually grazing, charming visitors turning off Hwy 16 into town.

The great and famous, too, are part of Jasper’s memory.

Film star Marilyn Monroe, in town with co-star Robert Mitchum to film the 1954 western “River of No Return,” was famously escorted from the dining room of the Jasper Park Lodge for inappropriate dress. That same year saw the release of “The Far Country,” for which the Lodge hosted Jimmy Stewart.

Bing Crosby was by in 1946 to film “The Emperor Waltz” and returned regularly to golf on the Lodge’s renowned course. Anthony Hopkins and John Travolta have vacationed there.

Royalty first came to visit in 1939 when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, stayed at the Jasper Park Lodge’s Outlook Cabin. Their daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, stayed there with her husband Prince Phillip in 2005.

But Jasper’s memories are not primarily of glitz and bling. It’s an everyone kind of place.

“Our family had a dock that was always painted yellow,” said Millar.

“All of us remember jumping off that dock and watching people come out from town and using it. That was always really special. It was heartwarming for us to see people enjoying the dock.”

Ware remembers the fellowship.

“Striking up conversations with people and having an hour-long chat. Making friends with the bartenders. And just really feeling like you belonged.”

Thursday morning, Parks Canada reported the fire remained out of control despite a small amount of rain overnight. Firefighting reinforcements had arrived to defend the town.

“While we understand people are desperate to know about the status of our community, homes, workplaces, businesses, and cherished places we will need some time to stabilize this incident as we access and assess structures,” the agency said in a statement.

“We appreciate your patience and the community of people who have come together to support the people of Jasper and Parks Canada family.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2024.

Bob Weber, The Canadian Press