Fort McMurray Fire

[SignalHillHiker]

I didn't realize I knew (of) so many people there until this. If you had asked me two weeks ago how many I knew in Fort McMurray, I'd have said none. Now, I know it's at least three people that I know intimately well (one of them I even hooked up with, so I know him in the biblical sense, lol), and about twice that of people who I know of through family. It's amazing how Fort McMurray is pieces of all of us.

[scryer]

I have barely skimmed through the thread, but just as an fyi you can see the smoke from google maps (satellite view).

[kwoldtimer]

The Canadian Red Cross has apparently received over $30 million in donations for Fort McMurray relief. And counting. Amazing!

[Corndogger]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

The Canadian Red Cross has apparently received over $30 million in donations for Fort McMurray relief. And counting. Amazing!

The province today announced they are allocating $100 million to help evacuees cover basic costs. Each adult will get $1,250 and each dependent $500. Somewhat similar to what was done during the great flood of 2013.

Source: http://www.680news.com/2016/05/06/al...rray-evacuees/

[Beedok]

I'm going to guess that an all season road north to Fort Chipewyan and Highway 5 in the NWT will probably get some serious discussion after all this. Just in case.

[kiwi]

Economist are talking about GDP drops in May.

[RueBulmer]

I've been watching the news about this. I feel like a ghoul. But it's so fascinating and scary. I'd probably be frozen in fear. The footage that hit me the hardest was the security cam that caught the family home burning on the inside. There was an aquarium in the room. I had one as a child, can't imagine how those poor kids processed that.

The cat got a few hugs tonight.

[eternallyme]

I heard that this fire could be not only the costliest wildfire in Canadian history, but in all of North America...I'm not aware of any US wildfire costing $7 billion (USD) or more...the only comparable event in recent times I can think of are the 2009 wildfires in Australia (which hit overnight and killed over 200 people)

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by kiwi

Economist are talking about GDP drops in May.

I heard a possible drop of .5%. Since that would be concentrated in Alberta, I guess the short term hit will be significant. This will also blow a substantial hole in the provincial budget, I would imagine. And then, one supposes, there'll be a noticeable upswing as reconstruction gets underway.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

I didn't realize I knew (of) so many people there until this. If you had asked me two weeks ago how many I knew in Fort McMurray, I'd have said none. Now, I know it's at least three people that I know intimately well (one of them I even hooked up with, so I know him in the biblical sense, lol), and about twice that of people who I know of through family. It's amazing how Fort McMurray is pieces of all of us.

where i was living in nw alberta i think newfies were a 3:1 ratio, they were either from newfoudland or cape breton it seemed

[mousquet]

Making the headlines for the past couple of days over here as well. Scary pictures over the media, but no one died, they say, except for 2 guys who would have died from a car crash from fleeing the incredible flames.

Just the well known sign of highly developed places. No casualties, even from such disasters.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

where i was living in nw alberta i think newfies were a 3:1 ratio, they were either from newfoudland or cape breton it seemed

On the news last night it was suggested that up to a fifth of Ft McMurray's population originated in Newfoundland.

[Marty_Mcfly]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

where i was living in nw alberta i think newfies were a 3:1 ratio, they were either from newfoudland or cape breton it seemed

A lot of us populating the Fort Mac area. I really had no idea how many people I knew that lived there until the status updates started pouring in of people trying to escape the city.

But they're all sharing stories and tales of compassion along their travels. Complete strangers giving them food, places to rest, retail stores giving them extra goodies to help them get through their ordeal. Maybe we're not a lost cause yet, there's still a lot of love out there in a world that seems to be full of hate.

[SpongeG]

so they keep saying the fire is growing, but is the fire still burning within ft mac or has it moved on?

[ZeDgE]

Originally Posted by mousquet

Making the headlines for the past couple of days over here as well. Scary pictures over the media, but no one died, they say, except for 2 guys who would have died from a car crash from fleeing the incredible flames.

Just the well known sign of highly developed places. No casualties, even from such disasters.

One of the victims of that car accident was a 15 year old girl, the daughter of one of the fire fighters from the area, along with her cousin. Very sad.

Considering the scale of what has happened it is amazing there have not been more. A less developed nation would likely not has fared so well.

Originally Posted by SpongeG

so they keep saying the fire is growing, but is the fire still burning within ft mac or has it moved on?

Its growing but away from Fort Mac from what I have been hearing. Not sure if any other towns or municipalities are in the path though.

Apparently the smoke is reaching as far as Iowa in the US now.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by mousquet

Making the headlines for the past couple of days over here as well. Scary pictures over the media, but no one died, they say, except for 2 guys who would have died from a car crash from fleeing the incredible flames.

Just the well known sign of highly developed places. No casualties, even from such disasters.

Yep. I don't want to minimize the events in Ft Mac, but to put it in perspective, more Canadians died from that 7.8 magnitude Pacific Rim earthquake a couple weeks ago than from this wildfire... as far as catastrophes go, it's definitely not bad on the human side.

[speedog]

Originally Posted by lio45

Yep. I don't want to minimize the events in Ft Mac, but to put it in perspective, more Canadians died from that 7.8 magnitude Pacific Rim earthquake a couple weeks ago than from this wildfire... as far as catastrophes go, it's definitely not bad on the human side.

In human lives lost, yes. But for most people, a catastrophe is about more than just lives lost - to put this into perspective, 5 young men died in a house fire last night in Calgary, I guess this is a greater catastrophe than Fort McMurray or the 7.8 earthquake where 4 Canadians died or the 2013 floods in which only 1 person in Calgary died?

[lio45]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Won't post it because it's quite political (right wing is best wing) type of stuff - but it does note that it's no big surprise no one died in Fort McMurray because "you couldn't pick a better city in the whole country - probably the whole planet - to set fire to.

I generally agree (and I don't see what's political in there?) but I'd say that you probably could find an even better city/town in the country, for example Petawawa or Oromocto where nearly every family would have military personnel among it.

Originally Posted by MrOilers

I can't help but wonder if that is a perk of a blue collar settlement where practically everybody has gone through tons of general safety and evacuation training? I mean I expect that a population of heavy equipment users would know how to get the fuck out of dodge safely and calmly during a disaster because they've trained for it.

Completely agree.

The fact that the city is basically a glorified work camp means that 1) nearly every family has a member who has the mandatory training and refreshes that a petrochemical industry job demands, and also 2) that it's a newer city, very automobile-centric, and since it's also a high-salary place, everyone has vehicles.

The last point is pretty important too... if you have to evacuate an average city of 100k, you'll normally have a ton more walkers and public transit users to take care of than in Fort Mac.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by speedog

In human lives lost, yes. But for most people, a catastrophe is about more than just lives lost - to put this into perspective, 5 young men died in a house fire last night in Calgary, I guess this is a greater catastrophe than Fort McMurray or the 7.8 earthquake where 4 Canadians died or the 2013 floods in which only 1 person in Calgary died?

Philosophical question to which the answer really depends. ~100,000 people all moderately inconvenienced vs ~100 people killed (Paris attacks a few months ago), what's worse?

5 dead young men in Calgary, I'd say one could make the argument it's actually more tragic, yes, than belongings and houses lost for 10,000 families, most of which will end up be replaced either by insurance companies or taxpayers anyway.

[mousquet]

Originally Posted by lio45

Yep. I don't want to minimize the events in Ft Mac, but to put it in perspective, more Canadians died from that 7.8 magnitude Pacific Rim earthquake a couple weeks ago than from this wildfire... as far as catastrophes go, it's definitely not bad on the human side.

Right... As usual, you're right to notice here, quakes and even good old-fashioned floods or flood-like events (remember New Orleans in 2005, almost abandoned by the completely moronic Bush admin?) are more dreadful than those scary infernos. We had some serious floods in the southern regions of this country to remind us lately. In fact (which is a bloody pain and above that, some shame), a bunch of people still die from floods in our country from time to time. Floods may be less spectacular, they take fellows by surprise at night in their homes, which is horrible.

Still, I'm loving the fact that they are taking care of one another. Some underlined fact in the media here, in this most individualistic society. It is something.