Facing “the beast”: Canadians rally to help Fort McMurray

Large flames and heavy smoke surround congested Highway 63 South near Fort McMurray, Alberta. Photo: David Levy, Creative Commons, some rights reserved

It’s been nicknamed “the beast.”  The horrible wildfire has destroyed 80% of the city of Fort McMurray, Alberta. By last Saturday, the big blaze had led to the evacuation of the city of nearly 90,000 people, oil industry camps in the surrounding region, and a province-wide state of emergency in Alberta. Officials were saying the size of the fire could continue to grow as it headed east toward Saskatchewan.

Fort McMurray is the hub of the oilsands, that place where crude oil is extracted from bitumen mined from the earth. When oil prices were high until just over a year ago, the city was a frontier boomtown.  People from all over Canada—especially from economically depressed areas on the east coast packed up and went to “Fort Mac” to work. In Canada, if you haven’t worked in Fort McMurray yourself, chances are you know someone who has. I know two guys from my hometown in southwestern Ontario who put in time working there. In this tragic, sad disaster, it doesn’t matter what we think of the oilsands, oil trains, or pipelines. The right thing to do is support those affected by the fire, any way we can.

Photos and video footage out of Fort McMurray showed scenes that look more like nuclear weapons were used on the city. Almost equally dramatic were the images of slow moving convoys of vehicles leaving on the only highway that connects the city with the rest of Alberta. Firefighters, police officers, and paramedics have been nothing short of exemplary. These are people who often get called heroes in society, and they’re more than deserving of that title in Fort McMurray. Alberta’s various government departments have been mobilized into action too. My friend Peter Schalk works at the head office of the Department of Human Services in Edmonton. The agency looks after social services for Alberta. Since May 3, he’s been deployed to fire duty, part of the planning team responsible for coordinating emergency social services to people and communities affected by the fire, and organizing support for municipal governments and aid organizations. For most of the past week, he’s been working to ensure people are safely airlifted out or placed in convoys from the oilfield camps north of Fort McMurray and resettled in emergency shelters in communities south of there.

Peter said that for those who want to help, the best thing is to send money, explaining that managing donations of food and goods has been “an absolute nightmare.” Money allows disaster response managers to better decide what resources are required and where they are most needed. The Canadian Red Cross, which is on the scene assisting displaced people, has launched a special fundraising campaign. The Canadian government is matching each donation to the Red Cross dollar-for-dollar until May 31. Several other aid and religious organizations are also raising money.  Businesses are also taking part in the effort. A couple of supermarket chains are inviting customers to donate to the Red Cross at the checkout. The cashier then adds the amount to the customer’s bill.

A wildfire hazard sign in Gatineau Park, Quebec.  The hazard there is high right now, after a few weeks of dry weather.  It's cause for concern with the major wildfire going on in Alberta at the same time.  Photo by James Morgan

A wildfire hazard sign in Gatineau Park, Quebec. The hazard there is high right now, after a few weeks of dry weather. It’s cause for concern with the major wildfire going on in Alberta at the same time. Photo by James Morgan

While the wildfire has caused terrible havoc in Alberta, the situation is precarious in the east, too. The wildfire hazard has been high lately in western Quebec. Several towns in eastern Ontario have banned outdoor burning too. These warnings and bans are similar to the state-wide burning ban that has been issued in New York. The reason for these is unusually dry weather. There just weren’t enough April showers.

In a tough situation, Canadians always come together. We’re a big country spread over thousands of miles.  Many of us will only ever see Fort McMurray on the news, but we feel the fear, shock, and sadness of its residents right now. Through our donations, kind words, and prayers, the worst situation brings out the best in people.

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10 Comments on “Facing “the beast”: Canadians rally to help Fort McMurray”

  1. SESZOO says:

    Terrible tragedy for all those involved and wishing them well. Was wondering if we’ll get any of the fallout from ashes and smoke here in the North Country with the Easterly winds …

  2. James Morgan says:

    Good question. I’m sure that is something Environment Canada and NOAA are looking at.

  3. nelson says:

    See the damage that fossil fuels can do Alberta is ablaze and no end in sight, that is why I have been such a strong proponent of wind energy and wind turbines. Why the people of Clayton do not embrace the enthusiastically is beyond me.
    In the event that the Keystone Pipeline is not used for transporting Oil o Nebraska from Hardistry, Alberta, meg oil tankers will be traversing the St. Lawrence R., imagine the potential for harm to the ecology, I do not have to go into it.
    I really think it is the status quo that the people are concerned about, the neighbor making humungous amounts of money from renting land for wind turbines, let us face it, that is it, end of story, sooooo sad to deprive members of the community the opportunity to reape the rewards of land ownership.

  4. James Morgan says:

    The focus here is on the fact that a devastating wildfire has caused a major civil emergency and the people affected need help. The possible causes, indirect or direct, are a completely separate issue.

  5. telfish says:

    Not really, it’s cause and effect. Alberta’s tar sands are the most polluting way of extracting oil known to man. It’s a little ironic that they are now experiencing the payoff from the years of throwing tons of Co2 into the atmosphere.

  6. Paul says:

    Some pretty sad comments here. The fire has nothing to do with the oil work going on there. So – people are living and working in a place where people never lived or worked and some are doing it so we can have our computers and other devices made with fossil fuel. The same goes for every one of us. I wish them the best of luck and lots of rain.

  7. Paul says:

    Sorry let me clarify my comment. We are all living and working in a place where no humans ever lived or worked in the past.

  8. James Morgan says:

    Again, the focus here is about helping people in need during a serious emergency, not about what caused the emergency. There are many experts who I am sure are keenly studying the reasons this fire happened.

  9. Paul says:

    “Canadians rally to help Fort McMurray” Americans used to be like that, now many of them prefer to place blame and focus on the own little political agendas in a response to anything.

  10. James Morgan says:

    Blame and focus on little political agendas happens in Canada too. There has been a fair amount of it surrounding the wildfire situation.

Comments are closed.