Fort Mac Wildfire Thread

[Roast Beef]

n/m. People already posted the image.

[peter12]

I can't believe this. I spent so much time up there. Any word on how our indigenous friends are faring?

[MrMastodonFarm]

[Art Vandelay]

Originally Posted by worth

Really scary. My girlfriend has a lot of family up there. Her grandmother was missing for a couple of hours after she was separated from her husband, but they're back together now. Apparently it's just chaos with everyone trying to get out obviously.

Have to feel like the evacuation was left a little late in the game. After this is over i'm sure there will be a big review on how Alberta communities handle fires like this, especially with them becoming more and more common.

I'm amazed at the pictures of people driving thru/beside the fire. I lived in Kelowna in 2003 during the Firestorm we had. Communities were evacuated well before the fire got close.

I guess maybe that comes with experience. These things can explode and accelerate so quickly.

Hope everyone makes it out safely.

[surferguy]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

This was the one I saw.

[jschick88]

Originally Posted by surferguy

There is a tweet at #ymmfire showing Ft Mac from 25000ft . Looks like a GD volcano. Can't confirm it is true or not. I'd post it if I wasn't on my phone. Can someone find it and post it?

This one?

[Yamer]

My co-worker's sister and family were at home in the Timberlea area early this afternoon. The sister had gone home early after seeing the blaze out her office window, and just had a feeling she had to convince her family to pack up and leave.

They did so about an hour before the first evacuation orders came down, and they made it out of the area just about 40 minutes before they closed the 63 southbound (on their way to family in Edmonton).

It's unfortunate that not more people had that intuition.

[peter12]

Really amazing seeing all of the offers for help on Twitter, especially compared to the vitriol being spewed by the ignorant.

This is the best province in Confederation.

[Vulcan]

Well it's raining here so maybe it will reach Alberta in a day or two.

[Frequitude]

This is absolutely tragic. Homes destroyed, families separated, pets left behind. The entire city is at risk.

Fort McMurray wildfire: Where to go if you’ve been evacuated

Residents south of the Suncor overpass can head to the Horizon North BlackSands Lodge. Residents north of the Suncor overpass are asked to head to Suncor’s Firebag site, about 88 kilometres up the road.

Those north of the Athabasca Bridge are asked to head north on Highway 63. Residents who are south of the bridge are to head south to the Anzac Recreation Centre, according to the Alberta Emergency Alert issued at 6:50 p.m.

[Boblobla]

I am due to fly in first thing tomorrow morning. Looks like there are still some flights leaving the airport and it hasn't been fully closed. I was supposed to fly in this morning but my flights got switched around...

[surferguy]

A great analysis of the fire just came across my twitter feed:

http://stormchaserkyle.blogspot.ca/2...n-in-fort.html

Conditions pretty much cannot get worse than this for Alberta. This afternoon, temperatures soared to over 32C, with very low RH values in the mid teens. When the RH is lower than the temperature, we call this "crossover", which aids in intense fire behaviour - especially when the fuel source is tinder dry. When winds are high (this afternoon roughly 20 gusting 40km/h), fire growth occurs rapidly.

[Yamer]

I am trying to assume that if pets were left behind it was due to the fact that people could not get home before evacuations to save them.

Tragic either way, but as a bachelor the first thing I would do is get my cat into my vehicle.

[pylon]

To any current or former Fort Mac residents in here, my heart bleeds for you. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help. If that involves throat punching the next person that uses the word Karma to describe this, so be it.

[blueski]

This will be in the billions for damages, hope lots of life is in the zeros.

[Acey]

Originally Posted by Boblobla

I am due to fly in first thing tomorrow morning. Looks like there are still some flights leaving the airport and it hasn't been fully closed. I was supposed to fly in this morning but my flights got switched around...

If that's WestJet... I see right now it's not yet posted publicly as cancelled, but internally I can see that it's scrubbed. Not finalized yet. I'd def call before leaving for the airport, at 1-888-WESTJET.

If Air Canada... good luck.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Is everyone leaving town going north? I was vaguely aware of this going on but didn't realize it was so serious and actually in town.

[Acey]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

Is everyone leaving town going north? I was vaguely aware of this going on but didn't realize it was so serious and actually in town.

There was an hour or two period where nothing could get out south so everyone was forced north. South exit has since reopened.

This escalated extremely quickly. No one really anticipated the entire city being evacuated.

[cDnStealth]

Originally Posted by surferguy

A great analysis of the fire just came across my twitter feed:

http://stormchaserkyle.blogspot.ca/2...n-in-fort.html

Ha, that's a friend of mine. He's a really intelligent guy who spent a number of summers fighting forest fires across Alberta.

[worth]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

Is everyone leaving town going north? I was vaguely aware of this going on but didn't realize it was so serious and actually in town.

At one point they were saying everyone on the north side of the Athabaska river must to go north, everyone south (on the downtown side) must go south. Not sure if that has changed.