Jasper schools won't be ready to open for new school year as wildfire cleanup continues

All three schools in Jasper will be not ready in time for the school year as work continues to clean up wildfire damage. 

Jasper Elementary School, Jasper Junior and Senior High School and Ecole Desrochers will not open in time for the new school year as deep cleaning takes place. 

Government officials provided an update on the situation during a telephone town hall for residents Monday evening. 

"We discovered that, unfortunately, because the heat, some of the windows were left open, and so there is a lot of certain smoke damage that needs to be cleaned out," said Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. 

Representatives with Alberta Education and Grande Yellowhead Public School Division said a damage and remediation assessment of the buildings found that ash and smoke are present in the schools. 

Air quality reports indicate that there will need to be a deep clean before students and staff can return.

"As we're getting closer to the school year, we are working very closely with our staff, and we will reassign our staff accordingly and make sure that we are sharing educational needs in the region," said Robert Lessard, school board superintendent for Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord.  

In the meantime, Jasper students will have the option of attending school in communities like Hinton, Edson, Grande Prairie, Edmonton or Calgary with online learning options being offered as a temporary measure to start the year. 

Busing will be offered from Jasper to Hinton or Edson. 

"There is a general intention to ensure that there is not starting disruption for students across the province, so please feel free to reach out to the school authority wherever you are located to register your children," Kindy Joseph with Alberta Education said during the town hall. 

Officials said if Hinton or Edson are unviable, that residents can register their children to attend school in any Alberta community by contacting the local school authority. 

Students enrolled in schools outside Jasper to the start the year will be able to return to school in Jasper when the schools re-open in the community.

Ecole Desrochers was set to open in the last week of August, while Jasper Elementary School and Jasper Junior and Senior High School were scheduled to start the school year on Sept. 3.

Smith also noted it may take up to 60 days for Jasper schools to be safe to enter.