A raging wildfire has devastated the Canadian tourist town of Jasper, potentially destroying up to half of the town’s structures.

Jasper is in the middle of mountainous Jasper National Park, in the province of Alberta, in Canada’s west.

The town and the park, which draws more than two million tourists a year, were evacuated on Monday. Officials estimated there were up to 10,000 people in the town and a further 15,000 visitors in the park.

“Gridlock getting out of Jasper last night. My brother-in -law manages the hospital… they are still evacuating patients and shutting down the hospital,” one X user wrote.

“My sister is with him, cooking and caring for essential workers. Hopefully they can evacuate soon.”

Tim Horrocks, who owns the town’s Sunhouse Cafe, said there was an “eerie environment” as he evacuated late on Monday.

“There was a lot of smoke in town at that point. There was ash falling from the sky,” Horrocks told CBC Radio.

On Thursday (local time), Alberta premier Danielle Smith choked back tears as she said there was “no denying that this is the worst nightmare for any community”.

“We’re seeing potentially 30 per cent to 50 per cent structural damage … that’s going to be a significant rebuild,” she said, adding the fire was still out of control.

The area’s emotional mayor repeated the “worst nightmare” sentiment.

“People are the heartbeat of every community. The people have been saved and that is significant. We can find a way to rebuild. We can find each other to hug again, because we all got out,” Richard Ireland told CBC News.

This place was a jewel of North America. Massive loss for the world, tbh. pic.twitter.com/DITYF7ZtEv

— sim (@slimgoober) July 25, 2024

Parks Canada said there had been a “significant loss” of buildings inside the town. But it could not give specific details of the damage, or which areas had been burned and it urged residents not to return.

“We know that people are seeing images from Jasper and are anxious for more information about the extent of impacts to the town,” Jasper National Park authorities wrote in an update on social media.

“Structural fire protection units are still fighting fires within the town and continue to fight fires moving from one building to another. We appreciate your patience as we work to make conditions in the town safe enough for a detailed assessment to be completed.”

Video from Jasper shows vehicles and entire blocks burned to the ground, including a historic Anglican church.

The national park post said several bridges had been damaged, along with homes and businesses. Other critical infrastructure had been saved, including the town’s hospital, emergency services building, schools and wastewater treatment plant.

“Although more time is needed to complete a detailed damage assessment, it is clear that some homes and businesses have been lost,” it said.

“Firefighting efforts have prevented significant damage to much of the infrastructure in the east end of town. Our priority remains protecting structures that have not yet been impacted by fire.”

The federal government and other cities in Alberta are sending emergency crews. In addition, 400 firefighters from Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and South Africa are due to arrive in coming days.

There are 176 wildfires burning in Alberta, more than 50 of them out of control. About 10 of those blazes are close to the border with British Columbia, where there are 423 wildfires burning and dozens of evacuation orders and alerts.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday he had convened a meeting of the Incident Response Group to discuss the Alberta wildfires.

“Every federal agency is coordinated, sending resources to Jasper, deploying evacuations support to the area, and reinforcing firefighting efforts on the ground,” Trudeau said on X.

The Canadian government said in April that high temperatures and tinder-dry forests meant this could be a catastrophic year for wildfires.

The Jasper fire was caused by a lightning strike on Monday afternoon and fuelled by strong winds, according to Parks Canada.

-with AAP