The fast-moving Jasper, Alta., wildfire was fuelled by a web of extreme conditions that converged into what experts described as a monstrous fire, serving as a disastrous example of what’s become increasingly common across Canada’s boreal forest.

What has happened in Jasper National Park is a “microcosm of what we’re seeing across Western Canada,” said wildfire risk expert and former Parks Canada wildland firefighter Mathieu Bourbonnais.