chiguirre Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 It seems the whole town had to drop everything and evacuate in the face of a fast moving wild fire. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/alberta/fort-mcmurray-alta-residents-ordered-out-as-wildfire-threatens-city/article29839263/?cmpid=rss1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolt. Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 (edited) And there are only two roads out of the city: south or north: plenty of gridlock. It's terrifying. (Not to me. I'm in the province, not near there. Just concerned about aquaintences.) Edited May 4, 2016 by bolt. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Moving 80,000 people out on two roads! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamiof5 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Prayers for everyone near that area!! How frightening!!! Praying for everyone's safety 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 (edited) Prayers and good thoughts. Hoping everyone is safe! Edited May 4, 2016 by FaithManor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolt. Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Note to anyone displaced: I'm in province and have space. PM for more info. 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catalytic Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Note to anyone displaced: I'm in province and have space. PM for more info. :wub: :wub: :wub: You ROCK! (I'm not there, but been through wildfires in 2 states and they are scary! Give me a good ole hurricane any day of the week!) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 oh man, some of the dashcam footage coming out of there is terrifying http://www.cbc.ca/news/harrowing-fort-mcmurray-wildfire-escape-1.3567813 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 Praying the evacuation goes well. Be safe everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 (Hugs) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 Saw more evacuations on the news this morning. Sending lots of prayers your way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 If you've ever wondered how fast a forest fire will engulf a home, this guy's home security camera was on & still transmitting while he was evacuating. Devastating & so fast. http://www.metronews.ca/news/edmonton/2016/05/05/man-watches-house-burn-on-security-cam.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elfknitter.# Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Reading BBC tonight, 8,000 airlifted, 17,000 we're hoping will safely evacuate on the south end. As someone who has lived through numerous, smaller acreages of wildfires, this is terrifying, horrifying, and I'm sending so many good and hopeful thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 I can't even. I know how many people hate that phrase, but I can't. We just had a 9,000 acre fire north of me, and my brain refuses to wrap itself around 200,000+. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eliz Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Praying for everybody there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emzhengjiu Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 This is so scary. Praying that everybody will be safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Information on offering assistance: http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/want-to-help-those-fleeing-fort-mcmurray-heres-how/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted May 8, 2016 Share Posted May 8, 2016 There are so many stories of bravery and inspiration coming out of this tragedy, but this one really speaks to me about the heart of the community: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/close-brush-with-flames-staff-at-alberta-school-bring-students-through-wildfire/article29933292/ An elementary school needed to evacuate and the school buses couldn't get to the school due to all the traffic of people fleeing. The staff of the school used their own vehicles to get seventy students to safety (the others had been picked up by parents). None of the staff were able to go to their own homes to collect anything because they were helping the children. Their neighbourhood burned to the ground. I can't imagine how scared those children would haven been driving beside the walls of flame and not knowing where their parents were, and how frantic the parents would have been when they couldn't reach the school. They all made it out safely thanks to those staff members. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted May 8, 2016 Share Posted May 8, 2016 If you've ever wondered how fast a forest fire will engulf a home, this guy's home security camera was on & still transmitting while he was evacuating. Devastating & so fast. http://www.metronews.ca/news/edmonton/2016/05/05/man-watches-house-burn-on-security-cam.html I saw this yesterday and it made me weep. I can't even fathom sitting somewhere and watching my house go up in flames. There was a fishtank, and photos on the tables, and throw pillows... I truly cannot even imagine the horror. I have a question. What happens if the fire keeps going? I mean, that seems like a really stupid question, but seriously. If there's no rain, nothing to stop it--it just keeps burning and burning and burning? Is it feasible that it could eventually destroy, say, the whole province? The concept is so big I can't even imagine what the possible results could realistically be. What eventually puts out a fire that big? Days of heavy rain? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daria Posted May 8, 2016 Share Posted May 8, 2016 There are so many stories of bravery and inspiration coming out of this tragedy, but this one really speaks to me about the heart of the community: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/close-brush-with-flames-staff-at-alberta-school-bring-students-through-wildfire/article29933292/ An elementary school needed to evacuate and the school buses couldn't get to the school due to all the traffic of people fleeing. The staff of the school used their own vehicles to get seventy students to safety (the others had been picked up by parents). None of the staff were able to go to their own homes to collect anything because they were helping the children. Their neighbourhood burned to the ground. I can't imagine how scared those children would haven been driving beside the walls of flame and not knowing where their parents were, and how frantic the parents would have been when they couldn't reach the school. They all made it out safely thanks to those staff members. That reminds me of the stories of the teachers at the world trade center carrying the infants in their arms, and herding the toddlers until they got to a grocery store and loaded them into shopping carts so they could move faster and get further from the clouds of dust. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upward Journey Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 I saw this yesterday and it made me weep. I can't even fathom sitting somewhere and watching my house go up in flames. There was a fishtank, and photos on the tables, and throw pillows... I truly cannot even imagine the horror. I have a question. What happens if the fire keeps going? I mean, that seems like a really stupid question, but seriously. If there's no rain, nothing to stop it--it just keeps burning and burning and burning? Is it feasible that it could eventually destroy, say, the whole province? The concept is so big I can't even imagine what the possible results could realistically be. What eventually puts out a fire that big? Days of heavy rain? Alberta is huge. That would be like almost the entire state of Texas burning. Overall, it's pretty sparsely populated. If Alberta were a state, it would be ranked 27th for population size. It has about the same number of people as Oregon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Audrey lives in Alberta, I think. Hoping she is okay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 (edited) I saw this yesterday and it made me weep. I can't even fathom sitting somewhere and watching my house go up in flames. There was a fishtank, and photos on the tables, and throw pillows... I truly cannot even imagine the horror. I have a question. What happens if the fire keeps going? I mean, that seems like a really stupid question, but seriously. If there's no rain, nothing to stop it--it just keeps burning and burning and burning? Is it feasible that it could eventually destroy, say, the whole province? The concept is so big I can't even imagine what the possible results could realistically be. What eventually puts out a fire that big? Days of heavy rain? We had a significant fire a couple of years ago and for us a heavy rain dealt with most of it. However there were small flare ups here and there for around six weeks as eucalyptus trees can keep burning underground for a long time. I wonder though I'm not a climate person if the huge smoke cloud provides a kind of cloud seeding as fires here often seem to be followed by heavy rain. Or maybe that's just the Australia climate pattern of heat then rain bringing relief. The other major fire here last November was also followed by heavy rain but it was about a month before all the spot fires and flare ups were out. It's also helpful to visualise the fire as not just one big mass of flames but as fronts at the edges. It an still be a massive front but if the wind isn't pushing it eventually you can bulldoze or backburn breaks. While it is being pushed by 40 plus mph winds you can't but if the wind drops and humidity increase you can make serious progress. Edited May 9, 2016 by Ausmumof3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 I saw this yesterday and it made me weep. I can't even fathom sitting somewhere and watching my house go up in flames. There was a fishtank, and photos on the tables, and throw pillows... I truly cannot even imagine the horror. I have a question. What happens if the fire keeps going? I mean, that seems like a really stupid question, but seriously. If there's no rain, nothing to stop it--it just keeps burning and burning and burning? Is it feasible that it could eventually destroy, say, the whole province? The concept is so big I can't even imagine what the possible results could realistically be. What eventually puts out a fire that big? Days of heavy rain? they will be digging fire breaks - probably very big ones. not sure of the terrain - but terrain does affect how a fire moves. (and fires can create their own weather.) last reports I read were the eastern edge was heading for northern Saskatchewan. I just hope we don't have a repeat of the fires of Yellowstone (1988, almost 794K acres burned = 36% of the park.) - after that summer of fires, those weren't out until it snowed. It's only May. my heart goes out to the people affected by these fires. pray for rain - lots and lots of rain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 We had a significant fire a couple of years ago and for us a heavy rain dealt with most of it. However there were small flare ups here and there for around six weeks as eucalyptus trees can keep burning underground for a long time. I wonder though I'm not a climate person if the huge smoke cloud provides a kind of cloud seeding as fires here often seem to be followed by heavy rain. Or maybe that's just the Australia climate pattern of heat then rain bringing relief. The other major fire here last November was also followed by heavy rain but it was about a month before all the spot fires and flare ups were out. It's also helpful to visualise the fire as not just one big mass of flames but as fronts at the edges. It an still be a massive front but if the wind isn't pushing it eventually you can bulldoze or backburn breaks. While it is being pushed by 40 plus mph winds you can't but if the wind drops and humidity increase you can make serious progress. interesting thought - cloud seeding is very picky about particulate size. but it would make sense. nature wants fires to clean out plant build up, some coniferous cones only open to release their seeds in extremely high temps. nature can also come up with a way to put the fires out. most recent I've read (this morning, from 9 hours ago) is cooler weather is moving in (for a few days) with some/potential light showers. crews have moved into hotels in town as the fires have moved past those areas. it is still "only" at 390K acres - when they had been expecting it to pass 500K. for the visualization of the fires - I'd like to add - it is a series of fires that extends west of town - and to the east. the biggest concerns right now are it is heading for Saskatchewan and they do expect it to be months before it is all extinguished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolt. Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Snow isn't out of the question either. Snow in May or June is a big surprise for southern Alberta, but it happens from time to time. I imagine northern Alberta would likewise have the possibility of a nice big snow dump at this time of year, if circumstances were just right. Thunder-and-hail would be fantastic too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Not so much cloud seeding here in Aus but rather the intense heat that rises with the smoke etc into the atmosphere with a huge firestorm pulls cooler damp air from the coast, thus creating a big rain event, which puts out the fire. Has to be a big firestorm though 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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