Fast-moving wildfire ravages picturesque Canadian resort town of Jasper

GRANDE PRAIRIE, Alberta (AP) — A fast-moving wildfire in the Canadian Rockies that had prompted 25,000 people to flee roared into the near-deserted town of Jasper overnight with flames as high as treetops, devastating up to half of its structures, officials said Thursday.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, following a mass evacuation of the picturesque resort and a neighboring national park earlier in the week, but Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland said in a letter on the town's website that the wildfire "ravaged our beloved community."

"The destruction and loss that many you are facing and feeling is beyond description and comprehension, my deepest sympathies go out to each of you," he said. He said he was writing with "profound sorrow as we being to come to terms with the devastating impact."