Jasper fire: Canadians mourn as jewel of the Rockies burns

Ms Porttin said she loves watching visitors fall in love with Jasper. Most who end up moving to the town have a similar-sounding origin story.

"Most people say I came for a summer, and I stayed the rest of my life," she says. "It grabs people and never lets go."

Town residents, she says, enjoy meeting people from around the world as they come and "fall in love with the place that we love".

Ms Porttin said she rushed to leave as the blaze closed in. She said the recently bought camping trailer was already stocked with some necessary supplies.

“Without that," she said, "I don't know what we would have done.”

Along with her four-year-old, she had only 30 minutes to pack on Monday.

Her husband was away, so a friend who owned a truck came over, and hooked up the trailer so they could all flee.

The two families spent two nights camped out together before her husband was able to join them.

"As much as you think you're prepared, you're never prepared to leave," she said.

The destruction is expected to have a steep economic cost, as tourists stay away during the height of travel season.

Ms Decore says her now-destroyed hotel is normally 100% occupied from May to October every year. Now, all of the tourists and staff have evacuated the area, and they don't know when they may return.

Park officials estimated that a power outage in the town last year, which lasted two weeks, deprived local businesses of some $10m in revenue.

It remains to be seen how long it will take to restore the resort, as well as the pristine ecology that helps make the majestic park a pride of Canada.

Meanwhile, there are currently 51 wildfires burning "out of control" around the Alberta province, forcing some 17,000 Albertans to flee.