What date did the wildfire start? and where?
1st May 2016- southwest of Alberta Canada
What happened on the 3rd of May- 2 days after the wildfire started?
- the largest evacuation in Alberta history- up to 88,000 forced from their homes
What date was the fire declared “under control”? and how many hectares had it spread by this point?
- 5th July 2016
- had spread 590,000 ha
On what date was the fire declared fully extinguished?
August 2nd 2017
What is the suspected cause of the Albert’s wildfire?
Human cause- this still remains unknown
Name 3 contributing factors to the cause of the fire
- Environmental conditions were extremely favourable prior
- Lack of winter snowfall caused an earlier snowmelt in spring-> average temperature increases causing the land to dry
- Late april- increase in temperature and a decrease in humidity- vegetation became dry
How many homes and buildings did it destroy?
2400
How many people died or were directly injured?
none
In total how many hectares of land were burned?
600,000
Give 3 other short term effects
- power distrusted
- Water supplies contaminated- untreated water was introduced into the municipal water supply to assist fire fighters
- transport seriously affected at nearby international airport
What is the total estimated damage cost?
$9.9 billion
the costliest disaster in canadian history
Give two other long term effects of the Alberta Wildfires
- severely affected boreal forests- soil was scorched, burned tree roots
- shell canada had to temporarily shut down mining operations- estimated to have cost the industry 1 billion
How many of the workers at the nearby oil sands industry were evacuated by aircraft?
1/3rd of the 25,000 workers
What percentage of Fort mcmurray was saved by firefighters?
85%
Give 4 short term responses to Alberta wildfires
- meteorological info was used to forecast the likely direction of the fires track- fire issues were warned
- A state of emergency triggered supported from Canadian armed forces
- Helicopters, water bombers and firefighters were bought into the area from various states and offers to help from USA, AUS, Russia
- Online registry supported by local government was created to help evacuees find accommodation
Give 4 long term responses to Alberta wildfires
- Many landlords offered reduced rates to evacuees
- Albert’s government provided $1250 per adult, $500 per child to help cover living expenses
- June 2016- a benefit concert “Fire Aid” took place in Edmonton to raise money for those affected
- Reconstruction programs for buildings services and infrastructure were coordinated
