It was the smell that struck him most. David Harrap lived in Jasper, Alta., for 31 years. Evacuated to Edmonton for three weeks, the veteran newspaper and magazine writer, returned last Friday to his home, and what’s left of the town.

“The smell in town at the burnt end is terrible,” Harrap said. “It’s not a nice forest fire, campfire type of smell. It’s noxious, it’s sickening. It’s almost smells sweet. It smells of chemicals. It’s an awful smell. I’ve never smelled anything like it.”