Truly, a terrible situation. Everyone here in Toronto is rooted to our screens in horror.
I guess us Canadians have to do what we have done in the past: put aside our petty regional differences and pull together in the face of disaster.
Our firm (like many others) is organizing donations. Hopefully, they will be of some help, though it will be small comfort for those losing everything to the fire.
Most are being sent to Edmonton, about 200 miles to the southwest. Some had gone to smaller communities south of Fort Mac but had to be uprooted again last night when the fire reached them for a second time. Others went north when the southern exit was blocked but authorities are trying to get them to Edmonton. I think having them in one place helps keep better track of them.
Actually, one of my Canadian contact on another board has reported that his, which live(d) in Fort McMurray, are on their third evacuation as of today because the spots people have been relocated to were threatened as the fire grew.
I’ve been hearing many are heading to Edmonton, but getting fuel into the affected areas is getting problematic.
I had trouble getting my U.S. credit card to go through (I’m just hoping the servers were busy last night) so I’m going to go to the Western Union station at a nearby grocery store, purchase money orders, and mail to Alberta.
One to the Red Cross for immediate relief, and one to Habitat for Humanity to aid in later rebuilding.
Does anyone know if Doctors Without Borders will send a crew to this area? They did that after Katrina and Rita, and you know there are going to be more injured and sick (from the smoke) people than the local hospitals can handle.
Many seem to be heading to Edmonton. The Northlands Expo Centre (big halls where they hold trade shows and such) is ready for them, and I understand that the University of Alberta has offered to take more. I don’t know about dorms or residences at the university, though since school is out for the summer, they might be available at this time of year; but certainly, the university has some huge gyms where cots could be set up.
I have the TV news on in the background, and just heard that evacuees started arriving at Northlands early today.
Edmonton also has a number of large hospitals (one attached to the university), so medical care should not be a problem for those who need it. Of course, more help in this area would always be appreciated.
Fuel is a problem. I have heard that gas stations along Highway 63 have run out of fuel. Tankers are trying to supply them and stranded drivers too.
The smoke plume has reached Saskatoon, some 800km southeast. It’s nothing like as thick as the smoke from last summers fires, but a brilliant sunny day has turned decidedly hazy.
Just watched a press conference with Rachel Notley (AB Premier) along with the heads of Alberta Wildfire and Alberta Emergency Management, and the news sounds somewhat positive. Fire crews have successfully defended both the water plant and the airport, and it sounds like the fire’s encroachment into the city has largely been stopped. The fire is still expanding rapidly to the southeast, and now threatening the communities of Gregoire Lake Estates and Anzac. These are just a few hundreds of people, however, plus a bunch of evacuees. They were evacuated today.
Also, a pretty significant airlift is underway. 4000 people have been moved from the Suncor and Shell camps north of Ft Mac today, and they expect to move a further 3000 before the end of the day. That airlift (largely Westjet and Air Canada Jazz, though RCAF C-130’s are involved) will continue tomorrow. Additionally, they plan to run convoys from the camps south on 63 through Ft Mac to Edmonton starting tomorrow - 400 vehicles plus RCMP escorts to start, with additional convoys to follow if things work out. Fuel trucks are being sent north overnight to support this operation.
Did the United States have to depend upon Doctors without Borders in the aftermath of Katrina?
That would never happen in the USA.
There are bucks to be made.
wouldn’t the oil sands add to the mess? or are they underground?
I believe they are underground.
As of tonight it is reported that the area on fire is greater in area than the entire city of Chicago. 210,000 acres, or 328 square miles.
Control or containment is not expected and the outlook is that the fire will continue to grow. Presumably it will run out of things to burn at some point but that will likely be days in the future at best.
On the lighter side, this probably amounts to the longest parade of one ton 4x4 extended cab diesel pick ups in history.
This is tragic, but amazingly we have made it so far with only two fatalities reported from a collision on the evacuation route.
The smoke has arrived in Regina. Strong smell and yellowish haze on the horizon. Enviro Canada issued an increased particulate warning for Saskatoon.
Can someone give us foreigners a TL;DR on the geography and roads of the area?
This news item from Reuters confuses me:
Where is the fire in relation to Fort McMurray? Is the fire to the south, moving north? Or to the north, moving south? Which directions do the major escape roads run? North/south? Any major east/west roads? Which direction are the residents going? Edmonton is to the south, right? Does the above paragraph imply that residents are fleeing to the north? Or does it refer to people already living in rural areas in the woods north of Fort McMurray? Why are people there, and why are they stranded? Is the road itself overrun with fire? Is the fire forcing people to flee in the “wrong” direction, into the wilderness with nowhere else to go next?
A brief description of the geography would be helpful, I think.
There are two roads to escape via: Highway 63 going north and Highway 63 going south. About 2/3 of the population went south and 1/3 went north. The advantages of going north were the traffic jams going south, the fire going across the road going south and the availability of oil sands work camps to stay in in the north. The problem is that fire now threatens the northern areas. As to wind direction the problem is that it changes. As to the reasons for the stranding, from time to time fire closes 63 and you need gas to travel–which is generally not available.
Also from the maps I’ve looked at, the general direction of the fire has been from the northwest to the southeast. It mainly started to the west of the city; most of the hotspots right now appear to be the south and southeast. This is of course subject to change with the weather.
A further complication is that the Fort McMurray fire is now a firestorm, meaning it generates it’s own weather so it’s even more unpredictable than the usual wildfire.
Parts of the Gulf Region sure weren’t going to turn them away, since the health care system was kaput. They are there for disasters, which the first world definitely experiences. I’m pretty sure they sent a crew to the Fukushima area as well.
When they say they go anywhere, they aren’t kidding, except for places that are too dangerous for them to be in the first place, like Somalia and, unfortunately, parts of the Middle East where two hospitals have been bombed in recent weeks (which is a discussion for another board).
As for the money orders, the grocery store sent me to the post office, where I purchased the money orders, which was a bit of an adventure in itself. Didn’t realize it costs $1.15 to mail a letter to Canada, either. No big deal, really; I expected it to be, oh, 75 cents or thereabouts.
You can’t mail a check, or donate online?