The mayor says the challenge of reconnecting residents in Jasper National Park to power after a massive fire destroyed some of the city's transmission infrastructure "is becoming increasingly clear."

Thursday marks the third day ATCO has been trying to fulfill its promise to bring generators to the town, which has a population of about 5,000. For a brief period in the morning, two-thirds of the town was reactivated, then power was lost again.

Amanda Matern, ATCO's regional director, commented on Thursday morning: "The complexity of integrating generator power into the utility system in a community of this size and scale is a significant challenge; the biggest challenge we see... is bringing that equipment from different vendors and getting all these controls to communicate with each other without system disruption. Yes, this includes bringing in additional load, which involves powering the town, and this may require a great deal of coordination."

Mayor Richard Ireland described the situation as "high risk," with some residents experiencing power outages lasting up to 80 hours by Thursday afternoon. Without reliable power from ATCO, the town has been relying on its backup generators to run the wastewater treatment plant.

With rising temperatures and winds, the risk of Chitamon fires also increases. Winds made direct firefighting extremely dangerous for firefighters on the ground and in the air on Wednesday. According to data from Environment Canada, the town remained at a low 20 degrees Celsius throughout the afternoon, while wind speeds increased from 5 km/h in the morning to 13 km/h by 1 p.m.

These conditions led to increased fire activity in the northern, southern, and central parts of the fire, about 15 kilometers from the location of Jasper town. But Parks Canada said its overnight size is estimated at about 5,500 hectares.

During strong winds on Wednesday, firefighters worked on indirect attack tactics on the southern and eastern fronts to protect the CN railway corridor and other parts of the ATCO power line. Also, regional airtankers dropped retardants on Wednesday — the first opportunity officials said was safe to do so.

Fire officials expect the wildfires to grow in the coming days, and Ireland noted that "if the wildfire area does not receive heavy rain, further damage to power supply infrastructure remains a possibility, as does the threat of a potential massive fire to the community." However, no communities were considered at risk on Thursday.

So far, ATCO has confirmed the burning of 18 power poles. The company was attempting to complete its assessment of the transmission line on Thursday. All Frontcountry campsite lands in Jasper National Park have been closed, and the park has stopped issuing new backcountry permits.

Both Ireland officials and Parks Canada are advising people against visiting due to the town’s lack of power and the struggle to keep critical infrastructure and businesses operational.