Municipal, provincial leaders look back at 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfire

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As forest fires become common across the prairies, Mayor Sandy Bowman and Regional Fire Chief Jody Butz both say other communities have reached out to Fort McMurray for advice on planning and recovery.

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Butz is happy to help, but he says he’s bothered that some people still associate Fort McMurray with a wildfire.

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“It will forever be a major part of our history, but let’s not let it define us… When people see a wildfire on the news, it’s my hope that people don’t automatically think about Fort McMurray,” said Butz in an interview. “If they do, I would like them to understand the work that we’ve done and we are a safe community. We have reduced our risk to wildfire on our communities.”

The scars of the 2016 Horse River Wildfire can still be seen across Fort McMurray. There are empty lots dotting neighbourhoods that were destroyed on May 3, 2016. The communities are no moonscapes of charred basements and debris, but blackened trees that fueled the forest fire’s approach towards the city are scattered reminders of the day.

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The wildfire remains Canada’s largest and costliest disaster. About 2,579 homes were destroyed, or 10 per cent of dwellings in Fort McMurray at the time. The municipality’s most recent data from March 2021 found about 86 per cent of homes have been rebuilt and occupied. As of 2022, 371 homes buildings were still being rebuilt.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada puts insurable damages at $3.8 billion, but direct and indirect damages are estimated at nearly $10 billion.

“While we would like to see 100 per cent of dwellings affected from the wildfire rebuilt, everyone impacted faces unique circumstances and it’s unlikely every dwelling will be rebuilt,” said municipal spokesperson Greg Bennett in an email.

At the Fort McMurray courthouse, records are stored of legal fights between developers, insurance companies and people who lost their homes to the fires. There are also cases of domestic violence, sexual assaults and divorces that rose shortly after the wildfire.

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Non-profit groups that noticed these trends say they started responding to more problems with mental health and addictions. Those problems worsened after the COVID-19 pandemic, April 2020 flood and economic uncertainty in the oilsands.

“It was a crazy and traumatic event for the entire community. Everybody here has been affected by it in some way or another, and a lot of people are still dealing with it,” said Bowman. “On days like this, its almost a somber event but it shows the strength and resilience of the community.”

Many people leading the municipality’s emergency services are veterans of the wildfire and the lessons of 2016 are never far from their minds.

Every spring is marked by fire prevention campaigns. Each community in the municipality has their own updated disaster preparedness plan. Fort Chipewyan’s plan activated last year when a wildfire forced that community to evacuate. Some hunting cabins were destroyed, but the town itself was saved.

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Butz’s team also monitors the weather closer than they have in previous years. This year will be monitored with even more scrutiny, since Butz says 2024 is one of the driest years he’s seen.

“We’re in a better place after having gone through that. We also have strong relationships with the province and the communities across the municipality,” said Bowman. “The best teacher is experience.”

Alberta Forestry Minister Todd Loewen is struck by how quickly the 2016 wildfire spread. He’s prepared for this year’s wildfire season with a focus on building fireguards, more funding for fighting wildfires and preparing earlier for the season.

The province recently bought night vision technology for helicopters so pilots can monitor and fight wildfires at night. Emergency planners are also using artificial intelligence, drones and thermal imaging to monitor wildfires.

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“We made sure that we had our crews ready earlier than we ever had in the past,” he said in an interview. “The utilization of advanced technologies… has revolutionized firefighting efforts.”

There is still room for improvement. Bowman and Butz have said in previous interviews that the Alberta government needs to be faster at getting emergency funding to communities and evacuees.

The RMWB is no longer waiting for provincial reimbursement for 2016. However, the RMWB is still waiting for $17.3 million from the province for the April 2020 flood. The RMWB also says they are owed $7.4 million in provincial funding for last year’s Fort Chipewyan wildfire.

Loewen said in February the scale of recent disasters has overwhelmed Alberta’s bureaucracy, but he wants that funding to reach municipalities and evacuees faster.

“Once we know they’re qualified, we want to get them the checks as fast as possible,” he said.

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vmcdermott@postmedia.com

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