2016 Fort McMurray wildfire

On May 1, 2016, a wildfire began southwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. On May 3, it swept through the community, forcing the largest wildfire evacuation in Alberta's history, with upwards of 88,000 people forced from their homes. Firefighters were assisted by personnel from both the Canadian Armed Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as other Canadian provincial agencies, to fight the wildfire. Aid for evacuees was provided by various governments and via donations through the Canadian Red Cross and into Saskatchewan, consuming forested areas and impacting Athabasca oil sands operations. With an estimated damage cost of C$9.9 billion, it was the costliest disaster in Canadian history.

The fire spread across approximately before it was declared to be under control on July 5, 2016. It continued to smoulder, and was fully extinguished on August 2, 2017. It is suspected to have been caused by humans in a remote area from Fort McMurray, but no official cause has been determined to date.

Fire progression

Cause and contributing factors

The fire was first spotted by a helicopter forestry crew in a remote area from Fort McMurray on May 1, 2016, and they reported it. First responders arrived 45 minutes later. An official cause of the fire has not been determined to date, but it was suspected to be human caused. During the start of the fire, an unusually hot, dry air mass was in place over Northern Alberta, which brought record-setting temperatures to Fort McMurray. On May 3, the temperature climbed to , accompanied by relative humidity as low as 12%. The situation intensified on May 4 when temperatures reached and winds gusted to 72 km/h (45 mph). A natural El Niño cycle also led to a dry fall and winter season along with a warm spring, leaving a paltry snowpack, which melted quickly. Combined with the high temperatures, this created a "perfect storm" of conditions for an explosive wildfire, and significantly contributed to the fire's rapid growth.

Climate change was also cited as a potential contributor to the start and spread of the fire. Debate occurred as to whether it was "insensitive" to discuss it during the crisis, or whether the crisis made it "more important" to talk about a correlation between human-influenced climate change and wildfires. Canada's politicians and scientists both cautioned that individual fires cannot specifically be linked to climate change, but agree that it is part of a general trend of more intense wildfires.

Spread to Fort McMurray

As the fire spread towards settlements in Fort McMurray, a local state of emergency was declared on May 1 at 9:57 p.m. MDT (03:57 UTC May 2) with the Centennial Trailer Park and the neighborhoods of Prairie Creek and Gregoire under a mandatory evacuation. The evacuation orders for the two neighborhoods were reduced to a voluntary stay-in-place order by the night of May 2 as the fire moved southwest and away from the area. The mandatory evacuation order was reinstated and expanded to 12 neighbourhoods on May 3 at 5:00 p.m. (23:00 UTC), and to the entirety of Fort McMurray by 6:49 p.m. (00:49 UTC May 4). A further order covering the nearby communities of Anzac, Gregoire Lake Estates, and Fort McMurray First Nation was issued at 9:50 p.m. on May 4 (03:50 UTC May 5). It has been reported that 88,000 people were successfully evacuated, with no reported fatalities or injuries, but two people, Aaron Hodgson and Emily Ryan, were killed in a vehicular collision during the evacuation, one of whom was the daughter of a firefighter. Despite the mandatory evacuation order, staff at the water treatment plant remained in Fort McMurray to provide firefighters with water.

On May 4, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo reported the communities of Beacon Hill, Abasand and Waterways had suffered "serious loss". The Government of Alberta declared a provincial state of emergency, and said 1,600 buildings had been destroyed by the fires. It was estimated that of land had been burned. Evacuees who travelled north of Fort McMurray were advised to stay where they were, and not to come south on Highway 63 as the fire was still burning out of control. A boil-water advisory was issued for the entire area just after 11 a.m. (17:00 UTC). At 4:05 p.m. (22:05 UTC) the fire crossed Highway 63 at Airport Road (formerly Highway 69), south of Fort McMurray, and threatened the international airport, which had suspended commercial operations earlier in the day. The fire also forced the re-location of the Regional Emergency Operations Centre, which was originally in the vicinity of the airport. On May 4, the fire was found to be producing lightning and pyrocumulus clouds due to its heat and large size, which added to the risk of more fires. The fires became large enough to create a firestorm, creating its own weather in the form of wind influxes and lightning.

The fire continued to spread south on May 5 across and forcing additional evacuations in the communities of Anzac, Gregoire Lake Estates and the Fort McMurray First Nation. These communities had accepted over 8,000 people during the initial evacuations. The Government of Alberta announced a plan to airlift approximately 8,000 of 25,000 people who had evacuated to oil sands work camps north of Fort McMurray, with assistance from a Royal Canadian Air Force Hercules aircraft, and other planes owned by energy companies operating in the oil sands. 1,110 personnel, 145 helicopters, 138 pieces of heavy equipment and 22 air tankers were employed to fight the fire.

On May 6, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police began leading convoys to move 1,500 vehicles from oil sand work camps north of Fort McMurray, south along Highway 63 to Edmonton. The fire continued to grow out of control, spreading to by May 6, and by May 7. As the fire grew to the northeast, the community of Fort McKay, which hosted 5,000 evacuees from Fort McMurray, was itself put under an evacuation notice. Albertan officials anticipated that the fire would double in size, and reach the Saskatchewan border to the east.

Remote growth, control and extinguishment

The wildfire continued to spread through remote forested areas in the following week, reaching oilsand work camps south of Fort MacKay, forcing the evacuation of 19 oil sites and camps with approximately 8,000 workers. One lodge with 665 units was destroyed. The fire continued to grow, from on May 16 to on May 21 and even spread across in Saskatchewan. While the fire moved away from Fort McMurray, two explosions and poor air quality continued to prevent residents and rebuilding crews from returning to the town. By May 18, the fire had grown to and expanded into Saskatchewan. By mid-June, rain and cooler temperatures helped firefighters contain the fire, and on July 4, 2016, the fire was declared under control. The wildfire was still considered to be active over the following year, having smouldered in deeper layers of moss and dirt throughout the winter.

On August 2, 2017, with no further or detection of hot spots by thermal surveys conducted over the summer, provincial officials declared the wildfire extinguished.

Response

Aid response

The Government of Alberta declared a provincial state of emergency for Fort McMurray on May 4, 2016, and issued a formal request for assistance from the Canadian Armed Forces. The government and the Department of National Defence signed a memorandum of understanding on May 4, detailing required assistance and use of helicopters for rescue operations. Shortly after, a CC-130 Hercules departed CFB Trenton and helicopters were dispatched to the affected area. Alberta also requested assistance from the Government of Ontario, and Ontario committed to sending 100 firefighters and 19 supervisory staff, coordinated through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. Other provinces across the country offered support. On May 5, four CL-415 water bombers from Quebec's Service aérien gouvernemental ( fr) took off from the province to aid in the firefighting effort. Approximately 300 Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers provided security in the wildfire area.

South Africa sent 301 firefighters at the request of the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre at the end of May. The firefighters were trained during the month of April at a boot camp, in order how to learn to use special hoses instead of the leather-padded wooden sticks known as "firebeaters" they typically use in their home country due to a lack of water. Less than a week after being deployed, the South Africans went on strike over a wage dispute and were demobilized. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley vowed to address the issue and ensure that the firefighters were paid a minimum of 11.20 per hour as required by the province's labour laws, rather than the 15 per day allowance specified in their contract with their South African employer.

The Alberta government provided an initial $1,250 per adult and $500 per dependent to cover living expenses for those who had evacuated. On May 4, the provincial government committed to match donations made to the Canadian Red Cross