Fort McMurray?

[riggerrob 643]

After seeing pictures of long convoys struggling to escape the forest fires and house fires in the Northern Alberta oil patch .....

[turtlespeed 221]

This poll is Bunk as there is no item listed for boobies.

Other: It's Trumps fault -

But Bush really did it.

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[CanuckInUSA 0]

I voted "Fire storm from Hell" plus "Zombie Apocalypse" because the videos and pictures that have surfaced, it sure looks like the apocalypse. I experienced a parking lot garage fire back in the 80s and was amazed at how fast and how thick the black smoke from that fire was. I can't imagine what the 88,000 people who fled this fire must have experienced. Many had to be thinking this was it. This was their Apocalypse.

I have never been to the Mac. But that will change in the not too distant future once it's safe for PFCs like myself to go back into the town. I belong to the Jeep Junkies (a group of Alberta Jeep Off-road Enthusiasts) and the Junkies have done trail clean up runs in the past and we are talking about heading up to Fort Mac once it's safe to try and help in the clean up there.

This fire is bad, real bad. It's actually forecast to double in size in the coming days and it could burn for weeks if not months if we don't get any substantial rain in the province. Also while the fire hurts the residents of Fort McMurray the most, those who lost their homes and their jobs (we also have to feel bad for the kids and the pets who can't grasp what's happened), this fire is going to hurt the entire nation. So many other regions of the country relied on the resource wealth that came out this part of Alberta and it was pretty bad these last 12-15 months what with all the layoffs in the Oil Patch (for once in my life I am happy I was not working in the patch), but now with this and production at the mines shutting down due to no workforce, the you know what is about to hit the fan and it will effect the entire Canadian economy. Not just the Mac and not just Alberta.

PS: while I wasn't there for the Waldo Canyon Fire of the Mountain Shadows district of 2012, this fire is bringing back memories of all the hardship my friends in Colorado Springs went through four years ago. You see I lived in the Mountain Shadows district of Colorado Springs for a few years. Here is a picture of the town home complex I used to live in and how close the flames came to it. Plus a former work colleague and friend who only lived 2 blocks away from me wasn't so lucky when his house burned to the ground. Wild fires are a part of nature. They help rejuvenate the forest when the forest gets too old. But they are life changers when they burn down towns and cities. I doubt we will ever know what caused this fire in Fort McMurray. But I sure hope it wasn't arson like the Slave Lake fire was.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

Human tragedy. 80,000+ people losing their homes. I live out west and the whole goddamn place is just constantly burning down. For all that we're capable of doing, we're still very much not in command of our environments.

I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

[oldwomanc6 52]

FlyingRhenquest

Human tragedy. 80,000+ people losing their homes. I live out west and the whole goddamn place is just constantly burning down. For all that we're capable of doing, we're still very much not in command of our environments.

Yes, not good for those who live there.

This is another example of how we have changed things, and are not in command. Sure, we can keep things from burning for awhile, maybe even a few years, but...

The whole west is designed to burn down regularly in areas, and when it's prevented from doing so, it goes up badly, and spectacularly.

lisa
WSCR 594
FB 1023
CBDB 9

[tkhayes 348]

AIDS is god's punishment for homosexuality (Jerry Falwell) so this must be god's punishment for climate change or trump or something like that.

Or all those displaced Newfies that don't call their Moms more often....

[turtlespeed 221]

tkhayes

AIDS is god's punishment for homosexuality (Jerry Falwell) so this must be god's punishment for climate change or trump or something like that.

Or all those displaced Newfies that don't call their Moms more often....

CLOSE! It's actually God saying he hates socialism.

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[Moosie 0]

oldwomanc6

***Human tragedy. 80,000+ people losing their homes. I live out west and the whole goddamn place is just constantly burning down. For all that we're capable of doing, we're still very much not in command of our environments.

Yes, not good for those who live there.

This is another example of how we have changed things, and are not in command. Sure, we can keep things from burning for awhile, maybe even a few years, but...

The whole west is designed to burn down regularly in areas, and when it's prevented from doing so, it goes up badly, and spectacularly.

It's so true. I live in Northern AZ and see fires often. We don't get to control nature, we just like to pretend we do. And someday nature's going to get tired of it and show us who's boss.

[SansSuit 1]

And the skydiving connection: This Bell 412 (N412AC) from the convention at Quincy is now owned by Wood Buffalo Helicopters of Fort McMurray. I'll bet she is getting a real work out.

Peace,
-Dawson.
http://www.SansSuit.com
The Society for the Advancement of Naked Skydiving

[ILUVCHUTERS 1]

There's a few skydiving connections - our DZ alone has about a dozen regular/occasional jumpers who live and/or work in Fort Mac. I'm sure the other Alberta DZ's have their share of Fort Mac jumpers too. We're all pretty happy they're all safe and sound.

[riggerrob 643]

Amazing!
Only two fatalities so far.
During the evacuation, a pick-up truck collided head-on with a larger truck. Both trucks caught fire. Both people in the pick-up truck died.

Typical Saturday night casualties in a bar in Fort Mac.....

A similar fire in Africa would have killed hundreds of people.