More than 350 structures have been destroyed by the wildfire in Jasper, Canada’s Rockies, officials say.

Mayor Richard Ireland said all major infrastructure had been saved.

“A lot of homes and businesses were lost,” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said at a news conference in Hinton, Alberta, where a command centre has been set up. “About 70 per cent of the town has no damage.”

Smith said residents will be out of their homes for several weeks and that emergency relief funds are being rushed.

“Some of our residents, most of them, will have a home to come back to, some will not,” Ireland said. “There will be a sad mix of people who have lost their homes and livelihoods. It will be difficult. The pain that will be felt defies description.”

There were no reports of injuries during the mass evacuation of the picturesque holiday resort and national park earlier this week.

Parks Canada officials said the hospital, schools and wastewater treatment plant were protected. They said the worst damage was concentrated on the west side of the city.

Jasper and neighbouring Jasper National Park were threatened by fires from both the north and south, and the town’s 5,000 permanent residents – along with 20,000 visitors – were forced to flee at short notice Monday night and Tuesday as the fires flared up.

“This fire was huge, it was moving fast,” Ireland said. “It was being pushed by the wind.”

Parks Canada officials said Friday that cooler conditions are reducing the risk of fires as rainfall decreased overnight.

Jasper is a postcard-perfect mountain town famous for its hiking, skiing, kayaking, and biking. It’s also home to dozens of species of wildlife, including elk, mountain goats, cougars, bobcats, black bears, and grizzly bears.

Jasper National Park is considered a national treasure. The United Nations declared the parks that make up the Canadian Rockies, including Jasper, a World Heritage Site in 1984 because of the striking mountain scenery.

Alberta has been simmering under scorching temperatures, forcing another 7,500 people from remote communities as some 176 wildfires rage across the province.

Record numbers of wildfires in 2023 forced more than 235,000 people to evacuate in Canada and sent thick smoke into parts of the U.S., leading to foggy skies and health warnings in several U.S. cities.