Jasper lodge owner ‘shocked’ to see property in flames

On Wednesday night, the owner of Maligne Lodge in Jasper, Alta., received a photo of her business engulfed in flames.

“I saw that and I was just shocked,” Karyn Decore told CTV News Channel. “It’s been in the family since 1961.”

Her father purchased the property, and by age 12 Decore was at work cleaning rooms. She now runs the 98-room hotel with her sister, as well as the nearby Tonquin Inn, which remains undamaged.

“I know that the community [in] Jasper is a very strong and resilient community, and everyone will come together to rebuild the town and make it even better than it was before, I know that people want to do that,” Decore said on Thursday. “As soon as we’re given the go-ahead, we’ll be in there rebuilding our hotel.”

Decore was on vacation in the Caribbean when wildfires destroyed large swaths of Jasper this week after the town was evacuated Monday night. As of Thursday, as many as half of the buildings in the historic Rocky Mountain resort town could be lost or damaged.

“The first responders, our employees, the community really got together and went door knocking [with] the RCMP to make sure every single last person was out of the town,” Decore said. “The community came together and they saved countless lives because of it and it’s really heartwarming to see that.”

With files from CTV News Channel Anchor Todd Van der Heyden