Montrealer living in Jasper hopes home will be spared from fire

As the wildfires continue to rage in Alberta, a Montreal man who has lived in Jasper for over 20 years watches anxiously, hoping his home will be spared. 

"It's just unreal. I think there's no words to describe the feeling," Steve Lahaie said in an interview.

Lahaie explained that every summer during wildfire season, he dreads the possibility that it might be his turn to flee.

"It seems that every year there's a community that will get evacuated. So of course, it's shocking that it was our turn, but it just never... like you just don't believe it," he said.

About 360 square kilometres are in flames, an area roughly one and a half times the size of Laval. It is estimated that between 30 and 50 per cent of the town of Jasper has burned.

Quebec's forest fire agency the Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU) has already sent two water bombers to Alberta. On Sunday, 40 firefighters will be heading west.

"It's a marathon, so for them they are kind of used to it. Their days are really long. It starts early in the morning, and it can go until sunset," Philippe Bergeron, the spokesperson for SOPFEU, said.  

"They are going to be working on the ground, using water hose, and they're going to be working manually in those conditions."

Firefighters from Mexico, South Africa, and New Zealand will reinforce the Quebec fire crew.

Lahaie doesn't know when he'll be allowed back into Jasper, but he did receive some good news: his house is still standing.

"Honestly, it was five seconds. We were like, 'Okay, good. We're safe.' But then we just… It's our friends. I think they lost their house, and so…

"So, for five seconds they were really, really happy. But then they're. I'm sorry, but yeah, then it's you go back to, like, thinking about the other people that their house got destroyed. So, it was really a short, the consolation prize."