A wildfire that left a third of a popular Rocky Mountain tourist town in ashes is Environment Canada’s most impactful weather story of 2024.
The weather agency released Tuesday its annual top 10 list of the country’s most impactful weather stories, ranked by severity, human and economic impact, the extent of the area affected, and the event’s longevity as a top news story.
In Alberta, a devastating wildfire hit Jasper National Park and the town of Jasper, making it one of the costliest events in the park’s history.
The July fire cut road access through the park and forced the townsite’s 5,000 residents, along with about 20,000 park visitors, to flee through smoke and falling ashes.
Flames ended up scorching about 350 homes and businesses. Officials estimated $283 million in lost property value.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada has said the fire caused at least $880 million in insured damages, considered the ninth-highest natural disaster insurance payout in Canadian history.
The fire not only devoured homes in the town but also scorched much of the natural landscape. Wildlife experts believe it could take more than a century for the burned forest to return to its postcard-perfect form.
To the east, Quebec, Ontario and Atlantic Canada bore the brunt of this year’s hurricane season to reach number 2 on the list.
Hurricane Beryl began forming in late June. Remnants of the deadly and destructive storm soaked parts of Ontario and Quebec. Heavy rain also backed up sewers and flooded highway underpasses, garages and basements on the Island of Montreal.
Some areas of Atlantic Canada were hit in July with flash flooding and washed-out roads. A boy in Wolfville, N.S., was swept into a ditch and drowned.
In August, remnants of Hurricane Debby knocked out power to half a million residents in Quebec. Several parts of the province were hit with record-breaking rain that washed out roads and flooded basements.
About 300 people were evacuated from their homes, while another 1,300 were stranded. A man in his 80s died after he was swept into the Batiscan River.
A January deep freeze that hit Western Canada was number 3.
Also listed as top weather events, a winter wallop in Cape Breton and the contrast of Albertans shivering while those in the Maritimes sizzled in summer heat.
There was also notable flooding in southern Ontario, wildfires in western Labrador, an unusual heat wave in the Arctic and back-to-back atmospheric rivers in British Columbia.
In Calgary, an August storm brought significant hail, strong wind, heavy rain and localized flooding, affecting about one in five homes.