Decore Hotels President Karyn Decore says it is tragic its hotel Maligne Lodge went up in flames because of the Jasper wildfire. “It’s sad for us and everyone in town,” said Decore in a Wednesday interview on CBC Radio One. Decore said her parents purchased the Diamond Motel in 1961. Her parents renamed the Diamond Motel the Maligne Lodge. When she was 12 years old, she said she was sent to Jasper to work and clean rooms every summer. When she turned 16 years old, she said she was allowed to work at the front desk. Her two brothers and her sister cleaned rooms and worked at it. When her two sons were 14 and 16 years old, they started working at it. She called it “part of our family.” She owns another Jasper hotel called the Tonquin Inn. While she was unaware of the situation, she said she was getting most of her information from her employees camping out in Valemount, BC. These employees were getting photos texted to them by firefighters in Jasper. Once the wildfire ends, she said Decore Hotels will focus on rebuilding. She added it does not know if she will be losing one or two hotels. She said Decore Hotels treats its employees like family. Its general manager has been with it for 15 years, the maintenance manager has worked for it for more than 13 years, and one of the executive housekeepers has been with it for more than 12 years. While the business is in the family, she said its employees have become family. That is the same with many other businesses in Jasper. Decore concluded by saying it is “appalling that more effort wasn’t put into the fire, and it’s devastating to see the town burn.” She said it should be devastating for Jasper and Canada. “And it’s something that people should wonder why this happened,” she said. “I mean yes, we have global warming, but did we do enough to stop this?” Jasper was on fire on Wednesday, with the Maligne Lodge and many other buildings in it up in flames.READ MORE: UPDATED: Town of Jasper now ablazeParks Canada Incident Commander Katie Ellsworth and Municipality of Jasper Incident Commander Christine Nadon confirmed parts of the southern wildfire in Jasper National Park have found their way into the town’s limits. “At just before 6 p.m. this evening, portions of the South Fire in Jasper National Park reached the outskirts of the Jasper townsite after being driven by strong winds gusts from the south and southeast,” said Ellsworth and Nadon.
