Alberta Premier fights tears while reporting on destructive Jasper wildfire

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith fought back tears on Thursday (July 25), while providing an update on a raging wildfire that devastated the tourist town of Jasper in western Canada.

The authorities informed firefighters were still working to save as many buildings as possible as most of the wildfire is still considered out of control.

Jasper is in the middle of Jasper National Park, in the province of Alberta.

The Jasper town and the park, which draw more than 2 million tourists a year, were evacuated on Monday (July 22), when officials estimated there were 15,000 visitors in the park.

"This is the worst nightmare for any community," Smith told reporters. "We're seeing potentially 30% to 50% structural damage and that is going to be a significant rebuild."

Her emotional response was shared widely online but failed to reflect her previous comments on wildfires – and her government’s relentless fight against federal policies to combat global heating, which evidence suggest has made the blazes larger and more intense.

Notably, last year, Smith trimmed funding to the province’s wildfire response unit. The premier said it would allow for a more quick force to respond swiftly to fires, but critics pointed out her decision.

It is worth mentioning herethat there are currently 176 wildfires burning in Alberta, more than 50 of which are out of control. Tenof those wildfires are close to the border with British Columbia, where dozens of fires are also out of control.

The Jasper fire could be one of the most devastating in Alberta since the 2016 blaze that struck the oil town of Fort McMurray, forcing the evacuation of all 90,000 residents.

The blaze destroyed 10% of all structures in the city and shutmore than a million barrels per day of oil output.

Experts have warned that climate change will increase the severity of wildfires in the coming years. In Canada, the Boreal forests have historically been a damp biome full of bogs, creeks and swamps.

Recent research also indicates that the oil industry, which dominates Alberta's economy, has contributed to the increasingly severe fire seasons.

(With inputs from agencies)