Canada’s western Alberta province declared a state of emergency as a massive fire in Fort McMurray forced 88,000 residents to flee, with two deaths reported due to an accident during evacuation. Hundreds of homes have already been consumed by the blaze. READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/7bse
Fort McMurray – hometown of JC Collins…his story, vids and pics:
http://philosophyofmetrics.com/massive-wildfire-in-my-hometown/
Met a great couple from Spain at Lake Michigan Campground last weekend. They have two kids, bought a van and a tent camper to travel around a bit.
His mom is American and lives in our town which is why they were here, her mom is Canadian and lives/lived(?) in Fort McMurray and they were headed there to see her this week.
Bet they were disappointed.
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So much for Agenda 21 Sustainability in concentrated city condos. For the US Useful Idiots info, an overgrown forest is not necessary to ignite the conflagration in an Urban Jungle.
Anyone officially blaming it on global warming yet?
News from four days ago:
A fire is burning right on the outskirts of Fort McMurray.
The fire started around 4 p.m. Saturday and is burning in a ravine near the Abasand area.
Jody Butz, the assistant deputy chief of operations for the regional emergency services, said the reason the fire is worrisome is it’s proximity to the town.
“It’s a few hundred yards down in the river valley, that’s the concern, it has a chance of climbing up the hill,” Butz said.
The fire is being described as under control.
“It’s near some structures and houses, but we’ve got a defensive line in between the fire and the houses.
We’re not really worried about it, it’s just going to take time to get it under control.”
It’s awful early in the year for a massive fire like that. Must have been a really dry winter up there.
IS – it was a dry winter in northern Alberta this year and temps have been hitting the low 30 degree celsius range this spring. My cousin and his wife live there – they owned two homes – one a rental and the other their own. They have lost both. And the cats. They are good people and will recover but our hearts go out to them non the less. The only saving grace is that Alberta is still a small place in terms of population. They – and the rest of the country – will do what they can to help out.
The Rebel started a campaign to raise 100K to help out the residents – not sure what their exact plan is – but looks like they have exceeded their goal already:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/rebuild-fort-mcmurray#/
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Update on Alberta: https://www.rt.com/news/342020-alberta-fire-spreading-air-tankers/