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The Canadian Press
Jasper

Clean-up underway at Jasper schools

Aug 13, 2024 | 6:10 PM

JASPER, Minn. – Schools in Jasper, Alberta, are racing against time to clean up after wildfires tore through the town last month.

The province says schools have sustained major damage and won’t be ready for students to return in September.

Premier Danielle Smith has said students would need to attend classes out of town.

But Carolyn Lewis-Shillington, superintendent of the Grande Yellowhead Public School Division, says that would only happen if absolutely necessary.

She says crews are already working on cleaning everything from walls and windows to air ducts and fire alarms.

Meanwhile, parents are already expressing concern about the possibility of sending their children to out-of-town schools.

Angela Raine Rechner, a mother of two, says children need familiarity after the mental trauma they’ve experienced over the last three weeks.

Around 25-thousand people fled Jasper and its national park three weeks ago as a pair of wildfires encroached on the area, eventually destroying about one-third of town structures.

(The Canadian Press)