- An estimated 30-50% of the structures in Jasper have been burned in the wildfire that hit the town yesterday. Surprisingly one of the videos embedded in that article shows that parts of the town survived with no apparent damage; on the other hand the iconic Jasper Park Lodge has been damaged, although the main building is apparently intact. While the destroyed parts of the town will doubtless be rebuilt, some on this Reddit thread fear that when it does come back it will be more like Banff than like the Jasper they knew and loved. One thing that should definitely be considered, though, is replanting burned areas of the park with different tree species, in particular broad-leaved trees from further south that are both less flammable and better adapted to a warmer climate. This would probably be at odds with Parks Canada's philosophy, because they'd doubtless like to bring the park back to the way it was before, but primeval conditions are probably gone irrevocably no matter what, so better to plant something that's good for the longevity of the park in the long term (not to mention the safety of the people living in Jasper itself).
- In California, the state's largest wildfire so far this year has been attributed to someone pushing a burning car into a gully. The fire has burned more than 500 km2 near the city of Chico in the Central Valley. An arrest has been made but there is no information about the suspect or their motives so far.
- The Democrats will be holding a virtual vote on the presidential nomination as soon as Aug 1. Candidates will have until July 27 to declare their candidacy. A convention will still be held later in August, but it will be symbolic only. This is necessary to minimize the risk of the nominee being kept of the ballot in some states.
- Saboteurs damaged high speed rail infrastructure at multiple locations in rural France in what is believed to be an attempt to disrupt the opening of the Olympics. Many high-speed routes are out of service, and the situation is not expected to be fixed until early next week.
- While Norway is a leader in the reduction of fossil fuels at home, they seem to be betting on the rest of the world continuing to burn them. They continue to issue new licenses for fossil fuel exploration; they argue, though, that if they don't drill someone else will anyway.
- The mayor of Wasaga Beach, Ontario is addressing rumours of people defecating on the beach. According to the mayor, the town has seen no actual evidence of this occurring; I suspect that the folks in this Reddit thread are correct in saying that the stories are being circulated by far-right extremists trying to play up stereotypes of immigrants.
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