Jasper wildfire: Hundreds of foreign workers left scrambling to make work and living arrangements

Fire destroyed a third of the town's buildings, leaving many people in limbo.

It didn’t take long for Namneet Singh to find full-time employment again, after a fire in Jasper, Alta., last week destroyed the hotel he had worked at for more than a year.

Singh, who was among hundreds of temporary foreign workers earning a living in the picturesque Rocky Mountain town, was on shift when the community was ordered to evacuate the night of July 22.

All 25,000 people in Jasper National Park, including 5,000 residents of the townsite, were given five hours to get out when flames began cutting off roads and escape routes. Two days later, fire destroyed a third of the town’s buildings, leaving Singh and others in limbo.

Now staying in Edmonton, Singh, who was raised in India, is working at the Jasper Employment and Education Centre to help other displaced foreign workers get new passports and other documents in order to get employment insurance or look for new jobs.

He helps them better the odds of getting work by helping them apply for open-work permits rather than permits that are employer-specific.

It’s also providing a distraction for Singh, as he’s had trouble sleeping since the fire.

“At night when I try to sleep, I’m having nightmares,” Singh said in an interview.

“Even if I don’t have my documents, I want other people to get their documents as soon as possible, so that they can have hope they can get a new work permit, so that they can start working and getting back to their normal life.”