From the left: Jay Hoots, Meghan Staneland, Marc Vien, Matt Staneland and Manu Loir-Mongazon stand atop a pile of sand that is being used to construct the JPCA's new bike park in Jasper. | J.Stockfish photo Jason Stockfish | advertising@fitzhugh.ca After eight years of determination and relentless effort, the Jasper Park Cycling Association (JPCA) is at last overseeing the building of a bike park in Jasper. ...

A powerline amid the aftermath of the Chetamon wildfire on Sept. 11. | Parks Canada photo Scott Hayes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | reporter@fitzhugh.ca Overnight rain has helped bring the Chetamon wildfire status to “being held,” according to an announcement from Parks Canada late Thursday morning. “While the wildfire remains active, firefighting efforts and a cooler forecast have effectively pre ...

Randy and the Random Roots perform at Locals Unplugged in Centennial Park on Sept. 10. | J.Stockfish photo Jason Stockfish | advertising@fitzhugh.ca After two years of being cancelled by the pandemic, the Jasper Folk Music Festival (JFMF) was poised for a glorious comeback in 2022. However, less than a week before showtime, the Chetamon wildfire started and the power to Jasper was cut as the powerline was d ...

A hot spot burns on Mount Greenock as part of the Chetamon wildfire in Jasper National Park on Sept. 9. | Parks Canada photo Peter Shokeir | editor@fitzhugh.ca Editor's note: The article was written before Jasper fully moved back to transmission power. The town is now welcoming back tourists. Jasper has seen its visitation drop by 50 per cent if not more as the townsite begins to move from the generator sys ...

A view of the north fireguard on a steep slope. Firefighters are now getting into more difficult terrain as the north and south perimeters of the Chetamon Wildfire are seeing little fire growth. | Parks Canada photo Scott Hayes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | reporter@fitzhugh.ca And then there was light. Two weeks into the Chetamon Wildfire, Jasper’s Mayor Richard Ireland had some welcome news duri ...

RCMP photo On Sept. 11, 2022, Hinton RCMP seized a significant amount of copper wire following a report of a quantity of copper in a rural location near Hinton. The area was littered with debris as well environmental impact, further hazards and forest fire potential observed on public lands. Copper wire and metal theft continues to be a challenge throughout Alberta—even with strict rules around the peddling ...

Parks Canada is removing up to 10 black bears that have become habituated away from the Jasper townsite. | Parks Canada photo Scott Hayes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | editor@fitzhugh.ca Parks Canada is working to remove up to ten black bears that have become habituated to the Jasper townsite, including two sets of female bears with cubs. The low berry crop in the backcountry has made even more ir ...

ATCO crews repair the powerline to Jasper on Sept. 9. | Parks Canada photo Jason Stockfish | advertising@fitzhugh.ca Top of mind at municipal council’s Sept. 13 committee of the whole meeting was the immediate concern of power outages and power sustainability facing the community. A few motions on the matter were discussed and passed unanimously by council, three of which were put forth by Coun. Scott Wilso ...

One of the more than 125 firefighters on the ground fights the blaze in difficult terrain. | Parks Canada photo Scott Hayes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | reporter@fitzhugh.ca The second week of the Chetamon Wildfire saw much activity and some successes. Although the fire itself is still considered to be out of control, it has grown minimally over the last several days, reaching 5,900 hectares as o ...

Peter Shokeir | editor@fitzhugh.ca Classes in Jasper are now continuing as normal despite the initial confusion caused by the rolling outages. Kelly Harding, spokesperson for Grande Yellowhead Public School Division, said the district is closely following the Municipality of Jasper and ATCO for updates. “Our school staff is to be commended for their resilience and ability to pivot in response to the frequen ...