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‘We will rebuild’: A look inside the wildfire devastation in Jasper
JASPER NATIONAL PARK — Richard Ireland’s eyes well up with tears as he gazes in silence towards his home and sees memories of a lifetime burnt to ashes.
The mayor of Jasper then leans over what remains of the small, cosy home he grew up in — a piece of a concrete wall — and says all he can think about is a framed photograph that was taken after his family moved in when he was two years old, lost somewhere in the rubble.
“We grew up here … a family of five kids and our parents, and just about always at least one grandparent was living with us,” the 69-year-old says on Friday during his first visit to where his home once stood in the historic Rocky Mountain resort town before a wildfire burned it down.
“That’s the way life was lived in those days … extended family all under one roof. My home was full of memories,” he says while holding back tears, his lips quivering.