A worker walks in a devastated neighbourhood in west Jasper, Alberta on Monday August 19, 2024. The Insurance Bureau of Canada says the wildfire that tore through Jasper is the second-most expensive one in Alberta's history for insured losses. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amber Bracken
EDMONTON – The Insurance Bureau of Canada says the wildfire that tore through Jasper is the second-most expensive one in Alberta’s history for insured losses.
It says initial estimates suggest more than $880 million in insured damage was caused by the fire.
The 2016 wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alta., resulted in inflation-adjusted insured losses of $4.4 billion and was the costliest natural disaster in Canadian history.
About 25,000 people were forced to flee Jasper National Park and the town on July 22.
The town’s 5,000 residents were allowed back more than three weeks later, though the area is still closed to visitors.
More than 350 buildings in Jasper were destroyed, representing a third of its structures.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 27, 2024.
