'Wall of flames' from out-of-control Canadian wildfire devastates town of Jasper and national park

A "monster" wildfire has ravaged the town of Jasper and Jasper National Park in Canada. Thousands of people evacuated the area to escape the out-of-control blaze. 

Hundreds of firefighters are working to control the Jasper fire, which currently covers an estimated 89,000 acres (36,000 hectares) in Alberta, according to a Jasper National Park update on the Government of Canada website. 

This is "absolutely our community's worst nightmare," Richard Ireland, the mayor of Jasper, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Approximately 25,000 people have left the town and park since an evacuation began on Monday, July 22, with no injuries reported as of 10:30 a.m. Mountain Time (12:30 p.m. ET) on Thursday, July 25. However, news reports and social media videos show the fire has devastated properties within the town, which is home to around 4,000 people, though millions visit the national park each year.  

"Homes and Businesses have been lost to a wildfire that people are calling a wall of flames," Danielle Smith, the premier of Alberta province, said during a news conference on Thursday. 

"To the residents of Jasper and those displaced far from home looking at the images of your town on TV and online, the feelings of loss and fear and loneliness must be overwhelming, but you are not alone. All Albertans are with you," she added.

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