Latest news with #Highway93
CBC
15-07-2025
- CBC
Jasper campers take in radically new landscape, one year after wildfire
Social Sharing Camping in Jasper National Park may be a surreal experience for returning visitors and a startling one for first-time tourists, nearly one year after wildfire ripped through sections of the park. Two of Jasper's biggest and most popular campgrounds — Wapiti and Whistlers — have few trees. "The landscape will look quite different," said Graham Wylde, Jasper's visitor experience manager with Parks Canada. "It is radically changed in terms of the viewscapes." On the mountain slopes flanking Highway 93 peering over the Wapiti and Whistlers campgrounds, trees stand stiff like charred match sticks. "Everyone will come to it in a different way in terms of their previous connection to it or their perception of what a fire impacted area is," Wylde remarked. Parks Canada crews have been working since last fall to get the park ready for visitors by clearing debris from trails, roads, grounds and facilities; taking down hazard trees, reconnecting utilities, reinstalling signs. Many of the washrooms were undamaged and didn't have to be replaced, but Parks rebuilt more than 1,000 picnic tables this past winter. "There's a whole gamut of work that needs to be done," Wylde said in an interview with CBC News last week. With the little tree cover now, people should plan to bring wind shelters or sun shelters, Wylde said, with the heightened exposure to the elements. About 30 per cent of the Wapiti Campground, or 120 of the 400 sites, are open for campers this season. Down the road at Whistlers, 100 per cent of sites are open. Nearly 25,000 people were evacuated from the town and the park on July 22, 2024, as the wildfire that was started by lightning quickly turned into a monster fire and destroyed a third of the town's structures. Regular and first-time visitors Of the available sites to rent at Wapiti the week of July 7-13, 97 per cent were occupied, while 99 per cent were booked at Whistlers, Wylde said. The campgrounds had their regular visitors, like Yudit Normandeau from Edmonton, who makes the trip every year with her extended family to their favourite site in Wapiti. "There's no privacy, that's true," Normandeau said of the new landscape. "But if you walk around, everybody says hello to you, good night or good morning." Aside from the family tradition of visiting Jasper and Wapiti, the family is showing its support by going into town to shop and dine, she said. "We're here — there's no trees, there's nothing but we are here." Myra Dawnay, 17, remembers the campgrounds before the fire. "It's definitely more windy because there's no trees and we couldn't put up hammocks," she said. "It was kind of disappointing not to see squirrels or bears, or animals besides crows." Ash Odsen, 9, is part of Normandeau's extended family and recalls Wapiti two years ago. "I was kind of sad for the trees because they all got burnt," Odsen told CBC News at the campground. "It was still really fun because I got to see the river, and I got to walk to the park and it was amazing." Heather Kindopp arrived with her family from California Tuesday night after a stop at Banff National Park. "That was shocking last night that there's no trees left," Kindopp said. "There's nothing to separate you from your neighbours, it's pretty open." It also struck her because of the family's experience in California, where the Camp Fire of 2018 that devastated the community of Paradise. "That's the same with our fires — you see the news and you can't understand what it's like until you're in it [and] you see what has happened and what's been destroyed." Tourism is necessary to rebuild the community, she added, and that the family would be going hiking and to see the glaciers in the park. Parks Canada is planning to rebuild Wapiti within three to five years to restore it to 100 per cent capacity, and will close the campgrounds completely to do so. Hundreds of trees had already been cleared from Wapiti in 2021 because of mountain pine beetle damage. Farther south on the Icefields Parkway, several smaller campgrounds with 20 to 50 sites are still surrounded by trees, including Honeymoon, Jonas, Kerkeslin and Wilcox campgrounds. Miette Campground east of the townsite is also open and fully-forested, Wylde noted. Wabasso Campground and Whirlpool Group Campground remain closed. A renewed landscape Wylde said the new landscape is an opportunity to get a closer look at what lies beneath. "Previously, what was hidden by the trees is now laid bare and the incredible mountain views are right out your tent or your RV door," Wylde said. On the slopes of the mountains are valleys, ridges, waterfalls and streams. "It's quite a stark difference but there's a renewed beauty to this area now post-fire." Normandeau is also looking at the landscape as a reflection of life. "Sometimes we go through times where everything is green and then everything is brown and burned and devastated but only from there we can actually rise up again," Normandeau said.
CTV News
11-07-2025
- Automotive
- CTV News
Four seriously injured after vehicle rollover in Springwater
One person was airlifted with serious injuries and three others rushed to local hospitals after a vehicle rolled on Penetanguishene Road in Springwater Township on Thursday evening. 'We responded just shortly after 8 p.m. to a report of a single-vehicle rollover with occupants trapped. When crews arrived, they found the vehicle had left the road and rolled down an embankment into a tree,' Deputy Fire Chief Jeff French said. 'Of a total of four patients, three were trapped. The extrication took approximately 45 minutes to complete.' Two women were taken to Georgian Bay General Hospital shortly after the crash occurred on Highway 93, south of Floss Road 7 East, and a male driver was rushed to Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre - all three with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries. Another male passenger was initially taken to the Barrie hospital and later airlifted via air ambulance to a Toronto hospital with more serious injuries. Highway 93 was closed from Robert Boulevard to Orr Lake Road in Hillsdale for several hours Thursday evening. Highway 93 fully reopened in the early morning hours on Friday. Police say the investigation is ongoing and ask witnesses to the crash or anyone with video, including dash camera footage, to reach out to the authorities.
CTV News
11-07-2025
- Automotive
- CTV News
Hwy 93 closed overnight after serious collision
Hwy 93 was closed for several hours after a serious crash around 10 p.m. Fri., July 11, 2025. PHOTO: OPP A serious crash on Penetanguishene Road had emergency crews on site after a vehicle left the road. Details are scarce, but police posted on social media that Highway 93 was closed from Robert Boulevard to Orr Lake Road in Hillsdale shortly after 10 p.m. Thursday. Police asked drivers to avoid the area while emergency crews were on scene. Highway 93 fully reopened at 1:23 a.m. Friday. More details will follow as they become available.
CBS News
27-06-2025
- Automotive
- CBS News
6 hospitalized after early morning crash on Colorado Highway 93 in Jefferson County
Six people were rushed to the hospital after an early morning crash Friday on Colorado Highway 93 in Jefferson County. According to the Colorado State Patrol, troopers rushed to the head-on crash involving a Chevrolet Traverse and a Jeep Compass about 5:16 a.m. The crash prompted a closure of Highway 93 in both directions between Highway 72 and 64th Avenue. The early morning crash on Highway 93. CBS State troopers said six people were rushed to the hospital, with one driver and a passenger were seriously injured. Investigators told CBS Colorado that it is unclear which vehicle the seriously injured individuals were in at the time of the crash. That portion of the highway remained closed for about two-and-a-half hours before reopening. Additional Information from the Colorado State Patrol: Anyone who may have witnessed the crash is encouraged to contact Colorado State Patrol Dispatch at 303-239-4501 and reference case number 1A251688. Please be prepared to leave your name and contact information so we can return your call.
