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“Now lost”: Jasper fire torching cherished memories along with forests
The black clouds billowing from the fires razing Jasper National Park hold more than the reek of charred timber and scorched earth. For thousands of Canadians and mountain-lovers around the world, it’s the smell of cherished memory going up in smoke.
“It’s a huge amount of history and memories that are now lost,” said Alexis Keinlen, an Edmonton writer who recalls the winter 2015 wedding of a friend.
Before the ceremony, the party gathered in the evening on the shores of Lake Agnes on the grounds of the Jasper Park Lodge, now at least partially burned. They clasped mugs of hot chocolate around roaring fires or laced up skates for a turn on the ice.
The dark of the lake and the clarity of the sky felt “otherworldly,” she said.