In 2024, after an exceptionally hot and dry summer, the forests of Jasper National Park had become a tinderbox. On July 22, severe thunderstorms provided the ignition, sparking fires that would burn out of control for close to three months.

By the time the fires were finally declared under control on September 7, they had consumed 80,858 acres of forest and caused US$627 million worth of damage. It remains Canada's second-costliest wildfire disaster, and a contributing factor in 2024 being the most expensive year ever for weather disasters in the country’s history.

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