Fort McMurray Alberta

Drowned Out

1ThoughtKnown said:

^^^

The heroic efforts of the first responders... it just cannot be put into words.

That they have saved all the city's critical infrastructure... just remarkable. Not out of the woods yet, it is another tough day with low humidity, high temps and wind.
Mother nature needs to give them a break, they need rain.

My friend found out today her house has been turned to ash. Sent me a picture. She is devastated.
Reality is starting to set in for these folks...

Kudos to Notley (our premier) for stepping up to the plate. I am impressed so far with her leadership in a very tough situation.

Thank you, thank you thank you, for saying this....I know you tend to lean right, so I respect that you are not part of the social media government mob.....There is such an incredible amount of partisan misinformation over the govt response on fb - its staggering....so many people using this tragedy to push their agenda. It's really depressing I'm also freaked out by the number of threatening posts I've seen against environmentalists/idiots who have made hateful or inappropriate comments about the situation...I have no problem calling these people out - they deserve it....but there are viral posts circulating with screenshots of the offensive posts, with the writer's personal info in them, and angry threats in the comments....I wouldn't be surprised if it led to someone being hurt.

I have been involved in a number of fair sized construction projects within the townsite of ft Mac, and two in the actual oilfields....haven't lived there or had any extended stays, but I know the town pretty well. With the downturn in oil, the working population was down, and the camps thousands evacuated to north of the city had a lot of vacancies....can't imagine how much worse things could have been - there is only one highway thru town - continues north and south. The videos pj soul posted are from people leaving to the south....that highway was closed for a few hours so a lot of people went north and are still stuck up there.
The town of high level and county of lac st Anne were evacuated the same day because of different fires...
We went through something similar (smaller scale) in Slave Lake in 2011....had a friend lose their house in that one. These fires are definitely extraordinary; I don't recall any thing like the slave lake / ft Mac fires in all the years I've lived here. People here like to joke that with our harsh winters, global warming isn't a bad thing for us.....I'm starting to wonder if we will be a scorched dustbowl in 50 years. Hardly any snow this year, mildest winter I can remember.....like so many regions, we need rain badly.
The outpouring of support from my home town (Edmonton), the province, country, world, has been amazing....lots of really generous people out there, and heartwarming stories being told.

Thirty Bills Unpaid

Without trying to come across as dismissive- the folks in Alberta are up to their eyeballs in problems right now...

BC is as dry as I can ever recall. April was as hot as I can ever remember. The forest trails where we mountain bike that are typically tacky are dust. Right now... in the first week of May... we are in late July condition.

I think this summer is going to be a really challenging one for western Canada. Really really challenging.

Fak.

brianlux

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

Without trying to come across as dismissive- the folks in Alberta are up to their eyeballs in problems right now...

BC is as dry as I can ever recall. April was as hot as I can ever remember. The forest trails where we mountain bike that are typically tacky are dust. Right now... in the first week of May... we are in late July condition.

I think this summer is going to be a really challenging one for western Canada. Really really challenging.

Fak.

BC too? Between the two provinces, that's an area the size of Washington, Montana, Oregon, Idaho, California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona- maybe throw in New Mexico. I din't realize the whole region was dry. Not good.

Thirty Bills Unpaid

brianlux said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

Without trying to come across as dismissive- the folks in Alberta are up to their eyeballs in problems right now...

BC is as dry as I can ever recall. April was as hot as I can ever remember. The forest trails where we mountain bike that are typically tacky are dust. Right now... in the first week of May... we are in late July condition.

I think this summer is going to be a really challenging one for western Canada. Really really challenging.

Fak.

BC too? Between the two provinces, that's an area the size of Washington, Montana, Oregon, Idaho, California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona- maybe throw in New Mexico. I din't realize the whole region was dry. Not good.

Yup.

River levels are low too, Brian. Really low. Sunny days are fantastic, but we're all kinda hoping for a wet spell here and there. One big one... and then a few intermittent ones would be awesome.

It'll be what it will be though. Time will tell how things will end up. For the FM people... wow... that scene is messed up. Those videos of people fleeing through the flames is f**ing mind blowing.

Annafalk

This is unbelievably horrible, a whole city destroyed. More than 80.000 people being evacuated. I feel so sorry for all the people having to flee from their homes. I hope they get good help, to get through this. It seems like forest fires are getting more common because of the climate changes, we have one big fire going on right now also here.

1ThoughtKnown

Drowned Out said:

1ThoughtKnown said:

^^^

The heroic efforts of the first responders... it just cannot be put into words.

That they have saved all the city's critical infrastructure... just remarkable. Not out of the woods yet, it is another tough day with low humidity, high temps and wind.
Mother nature needs to give them a break, they need rain.

My friend found out today her house has been turned to ash. Sent me a picture. She is devastated.
Reality is starting to set in for these folks...

Kudos to Notley (our premier) for stepping up to the plate. I am impressed so far with her leadership in a very tough situation.

Thank you, thank you thank you, for saying this....I know you tend to lean right, so I respect that you are not part of the social media government mob.....There is such an incredible amount of partisan misinformation over the govt response on fb - its staggering....so many people using this tragedy to push their agenda. It's really depressing I'm also freaked out by the number of threatening posts I've seen against environmentalists/idiots who have made hateful or inappropriate comments about the situation...I have no problem calling these people out - they deserve it....but there are viral posts circulating with screenshots of the offensive posts, with the writer's personal info in them, and angry threats in the comments....I wouldn't be surprised if it led to someone being hurt.

I have been involved in a number of fair sized construction projects within the townsite of ft Mac, and two in the actual oilfields....haven't lived there or had any extended stays, but I know the town pretty well. With the downturn in oil, the working population was down, and the camps thousands evacuated to north of the city had a lot of vacancies....can't imagine how much worse things could have been - there is only one highway thru town - continues north and south. The videos pj soul posted are from people leaving to the south....that highway was closed for a few hours so a lot of people went north and are still stuck up there.
The town of high level and county of lac st Anne were evacuated the same day because of different fires...
We went through something similar (smaller scale) in Slave Lake in 2011....had a friend lose their house in that one. These fires are definitely extraordinary; I don't recall any thing like the slave lake / ft Mac fires in all the years I've lived here. People here like to joke that with our harsh winters, global warming isn't a bad thing for us.....I'm starting to wonder if we will be a scorched dustbowl in 50 years. Hardly any snow this year, mildest winter I can remember.....like so many regions, we need rain badly.
The outpouring of support from my home town (Edmonton), the province, country, world, has been amazing....lots of really generous people out there, and heartwarming stories being told.

This is a great post.
This is not a time to push a political agenda, no matter which way you lean. I believe Trudeau should be in Lac La Biche and Edmonton shaking hands and kissing babies, but Albertans (especially Fort Mac) are strong people and will get through this.

Now I don't have any social media outlet, but I have avoided reading the comments of ignorant people at the bottom of Internet stories because I want to maintain some faith in humanity.
I can imagine there has been some sentiment from the environmental left that it is "karma" and that kind of nonsense.

If you are one of those people, you should be ashamed of yourself. Being smug in this kind of situation is deplorable.

1ThoughtKnown

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

Without trying to come across as dismissive- the folks in Alberta are up to their eyeballs in problems right now...

BC is as dry as I can ever recall. April was as hot as I can ever remember. The forest trails where we mountain bike that are typically tacky are dust. Right now... in the first week of May... we are in late July condition.

I think this summer is going to be a really challenging one for western Canada. Really really challenging.

Fak.

You are right thirty, I think BC, AB, and Sask are going to have a tough time keeping up with these fires. It could be a frightening summer.

Thirty Bills Unpaid

1Thought...

I haven't heard anyone say anything anywhere that doesn't come across as support. Maybe I frequent the wrong places, but if anyone around here said anything along the lines of what you suggest... they'd be shredded.

1ThoughtKnown

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

1Thought...

I haven't heard anyone say anything anywhere that doesn't come across as support. Maybe I frequent the wrong places, but if anyone around here said anything along the lines of what you suggest... they'd be shredded.

Some of my co-workers have read some of that sentiment. In fact, a fellow who ran for the NDP in the provincial election (and lost) posted one word on Twitter. KARMA.
He took it down, but that is just mind-boggling.

No one on here has said anything like that. PJ fans are great people.

1ThoughtKnown

Canadians have donated 30 million to the Red Cross in five days.
I'm so proud it's making me cry....

brianlux

1ThoughtKnown said:

Drowned Out said:

1ThoughtKnown said:

^^^

The heroic efforts of the first responders... it just cannot be put into words.

That they have saved all the city's critical infrastructure... just remarkable. Not out of the woods yet, it is another tough day with low humidity, high temps and wind.
Mother nature needs to give them a break, they need rain.

My friend found out today her house has been turned to ash. Sent me a picture. She is devastated.
Reality is starting to set in for these folks...

Kudos to Notley (our premier) for stepping up to the plate. I am impressed so far with her leadership in a very tough situation.

Thank you, thank you thank you, for saying this....I know you tend to lean right, so I respect that you are not part of the social media government mob.....There is such an incredible amount of partisan misinformation over the govt response on fb - its staggering....so many people using this tragedy to push their agenda. It's really depressing I'm also freaked out by the number of threatening posts I've seen against environmentalists/idiots who have made hateful or inappropriate comments about the situation...I have no problem calling these people out - they deserve it....but there are viral posts circulating with screenshots of the offensive posts, with the writer's personal info in them, and angry threats in the comments....I wouldn't be surprised if it led to someone being hurt.

I have been involved in a number of fair sized construction projects within the townsite of ft Mac, and two in the actual oilfields....haven't lived there or had any extended stays, but I know the town pretty well. With the downturn in oil, the working population was down, and the camps thousands evacuated to north of the city had a lot of vacancies....can't imagine how much worse things could have been - there is only one highway thru town - continues north and south. The videos pj soul posted are from people leaving to the south....that highway was closed for a few hours so a lot of people went north and are still stuck up there.
The town of high level and county of lac st Anne were evacuated the same day because of different fires...
We went through something similar (smaller scale) in Slave Lake in 2011....had a friend lose their house in that one. These fires are definitely extraordinary; I don't recall any thing like the slave lake / ft Mac fires in all the years I've lived here. People here like to joke that with our harsh winters, global warming isn't a bad thing for us.....I'm starting to wonder if we will be a scorched dustbowl in 50 years. Hardly any snow this year, mildest winter I can remember.....like so many regions, we need rain badly.
The outpouring of support from my home town (Edmonton), the province, country, world, has been amazing....lots of really generous people out there, and heartwarming stories being told.

This is a great post.
This is not a time to push a political agenda, no matter which way you lean. I believe Trudeau should be in Lac La Biche and Edmonton shaking hands and kissing babies, but Albertans (especially Fort Mac) are strong people and will get through this.

Now I don't have any social media outlet, but I have avoided reading the comments of ignorant people at the bottom of Internet stories because I want to maintain some faith in humanity.
I can imagine there has been some sentiment from the environmental left that it is "karma" and that kind of nonsense.

If you are one of those people, you should be ashamed of yourself. Being smug in this kind of situation is deplorable.

You would probably describe me as being one of those on the "environmental left" and yet I will tell you this: I have nothing but empathy for those who are affected by this fire. I live in a semi-arid climate that has gotten drier in my almost 65 years and I am very concerned about global warming and its affect on climate including increased risk to the lives and heath of humans alike. But that's a bigger, broader picture. In the midst of a catastrophe such as what is going on in Alberta, my thoughts have been for those affected, not some "political agenda".

You might want to look at your statement and consider your own bad "karma" and misplaced jabs at environmentally concerned people such as myself and others here. You're the one creating the ill will that way here, not those of us who are concerned both about the environment AND the well being of our fellow humans and wild life.

1ThoughtKnown

^^^^^

Here we go again *sigh*

I have heard from others that on Internet news stories in the comment sections below those stories, certain people of the enviro-left have made those kinds of statements,. it is karma, they deserve it for what they have done to the environment, etc.

If you make those kinds of statements in the middle of a crisis, you are an asshole. (You in a general sense, one of the 6 billion people in the world).

I have not seen any, nor do I care to. This is why I am not looking at those comment sections. The post was general and not aimed at anyone in particular and definitely not anyone here.

I do know of one wannabe politician (who lost) who posted "karma" on Twitter but then took it down. Too bad, the damage was done. Just brutal and mind boggling at the same time.

So, I meant no ill will, but you would also have to realize that like the crazy wild way to the right assholes in the world like the Tea Party Republicans, there are some waaaay too far to the left crazy environmentalists who could care less about people as well.
So far left its regressive.

I never meant for this to get political in any way. This is about those people.

brianlux

1ThoughtKnown said:

^^^^^

Here we go again *sigh*

I have heard from others that on Internet news stories in the comment sections below those stories, certain people of the enviro-left have made those kinds of statements,. it is karma, they deserve it for what they have done to the environment, etc.

If you make those kinds of statements in the middle of a crisis, you are an asshole. (You in a general sense, one of the 6 billion people in the world).

I have not seen any, nor do I care to. This is why I am not looking at those comment sections. The post was general and not aimed at anyone in particular and definitely not anyone here.

I do know of one wannabe politician (who lost) who posted "karma" on Twitter but then took it down. Too bad, the damage was done. Just brutal and mind boggling at the same time.

So, I meant no ill will, but you would also have to realize that like the crazy wild way to the right assholes in the world like the Tea Party Republicans, there are some waaaay too far to the left crazy environmentalists who could care less about people as well.
So far left its regressive.

I never meant for this to get political in any way. This is about those people.

I'm sorry if I misunderstood. What you said sounded kind of accusatory but I guess I was wrong. I get a little defensive about people labeling radical environmentalists as a-holes or whatever. Not all radical environmentalists and certainly no true environmentalist is like that. We are often described inaccurately. For example, both the original Earth First! group and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society have been labeled "terrorists". Neither are terrorist organizations. Both have engaged in acts of sabotage but the number one rule (emphasized) of both organizations is DO NO HARM TO ANYONE! Before anything else, that is the paramount rule of these organizations. Members of those organizations view all life, human and wild, as sacred and would never wish ill-will on anyone. Anyone who does wish ill-will or says "they had it coming" is not a true environmentalist. That kind of person could better be called an "asshole". Please understand what I'm saying about the difference between a true environmentalist and a person who is hateful, vengeful and wishes ill-will on others. There is a vast difference between the two.

Thanks for helping get us back on track here.

Good thoughts going out for our friends to the north.

1ThoughtKnown

Cheers

PJ_Soul

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

1Thought...

I haven't heard anyone say anything anywhere that doesn't come across as support. Maybe I frequent the wrong places, but if anyone around here said anything along the lines of what you suggest... they'd be shredded.

I did see a few people post some stuff about this on Facebook, and yeah, as mentioned, some idiot in the NDP party posted something like that on Twitter. Obviously that stirred up some controversy and spurned a few little backlash articles in the media, but it was basically dismissed as idiotic and pathetic. Probably damaged the career of whatever douchebag posted it. And of course some random internet trolls posted some similar stuff.... All easy to ignore. Not really worth thinking about.
I am far left and have major issues with the tar sands, and I find this fire completely unrelated to all of those issues. Only a moron would seek to make a connection.

dignin

Rachel Notley admits to personally starting Fort McMurray wildfire

EDMONTON - After days of dodging important questions from Rebel Media and uncles’ facebook pages alike, Alberta premier Rachel Notley came clean today and admitted that she intentionally created the fire that has caused the evacuation of the entire city of Fort McMurray.

“It is time to confess my sins,” said an emotional Notley at a press conference announcing the news. “Not only did I ignore the wildfire as it spread, not only did I divert resources from firefighters in order to house Syrian refugees and fund gay weddings, I actually travelled in secret to an area outside Fort McMurray and started a fire using gasoline and a flame thrower.”

“I even charged the cost of the gasoline to the taxpayer, proving your conservative friends right yet again,” she added.

Notley went on to acknowledge that she did what she did because she hates the oilsands, the people who work there, and the people of Alberta as a whole.

“Let me be clear. It is the NDP government’s policy to do everything it can to impoverish, endanger, and outright murder each and every person in this godforsaken province. That Wild Rose supporter you knew in highschool has been right about us all along.”

The announcement coincided with a list of future actions Notley would take unless stopped, which include closing the West Edmonton Mall and shutting down the Calgary stampede so the bulls could live on a vegan-run co-op farm where they will help schoolchildren learn to speak Arabic.

Despite their success, the province’s social media deputies were not ready to rest on their laurels, as they were already hot on the trail of Notley’s suspected accomplice: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

http://www.thebeaverton.com/national/item/2669-rachel-notley-admits-to-personally-starting-fort-mcmurray-wildfire

brianlux

dignin said:

Rachel Notley admits to personally starting Fort McMurray wildfire

EDMONTON - After days of dodging important questions from Rebel Media and uncles’ facebook pages alike, Alberta premier Rachel Notley came clean today and admitted that she intentionally created the fire that has caused the evacuation of the entire city of Fort McMurray.

“It is time to confess my sins,” said an emotional Notley at a press conference announcing the news. “Not only did I ignore the wildfire as it spread, not only did I divert resources from firefighters in order to house Syrian refugees and fund gay weddings, I actually travelled in secret to an area outside Fort McMurray and started a fire using gasoline and a flame thrower.”

“I even charged the cost of the gasoline to the taxpayer, proving your conservative friends right yet again,” she added.

Notley went on to acknowledge that she did what she did because she hates the oilsands, the people who work there, and the people of Alberta as a whole.

“Let me be clear. It is the NDP government’s policy to do everything it can to impoverish, endanger, and outright murder each and every person in this godforsaken province. That Wild Rose supporter you knew in highschool has been right about us all along.”

The announcement coincided with a list of future actions Notley would take unless stopped, which include closing the West Edmonton Mall and shutting down the Calgary stampede so the bulls could live on a vegan-run co-op farm where they will help schoolchildren learn to speak Arabic.

Despite their success, the province’s social media deputies were not ready to rest on their laurels, as they were already hot on the trail of Notley’s suspected accomplice: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

http://www.thebeaverton.com/national/item/2669-rachel-notley-admits-to-personally-starting-fort-mcmurray-wildfire

This is some very strange form of sarcasm!

even flow - question mark

I must say that I do feel for the people who had to flee. BUT.......Why the hell would you wait until a fire that size is on your doorstep before you decide it is time to evacuate? The videos are only so shocking, because the fire was so close, because you waited. I don't know about everybody else, but if a fire the size of a small city was off in the distance and moving, rapidly towards my house, I may have been out of there in a heartbeat.

HughFreakingDillon

1ThoughtKnown said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

1Thought...

I haven't heard anyone say anything anywhere that doesn't come across as support. Maybe I frequent the wrong places, but if anyone around here said anything along the lines of what you suggest... they'd be shredded.

Some of my co-workers have read some of that sentiment. In fact, a fellow who ran for the NDP in the provincial election (and lost) posted one word on Twitter. KARMA.
He took it down, but that is just mind-boggling.

No one on here has said anything like that. PJ fans are great people.

when I read that I was SO disgusted.

HughFreakingDillon

even flow - question mark said:

I must say that I do feel for the people who had to flee. BUT.......Why the hell would you wait until a fire that size is on your doorstep before you decide it is time to evacuate? The videos are only so shocking, because the fire was so close, because you waited. I don't know about everybody else, but if a fire the size of a small city was off in the distance and moving, rapidly towards my house, I may have been out of there in a heartbeat.

abandoning your home is a big deal. it may have gotten much worse in a very short time period. I'm not sure. but uprooting your family to whoknowswhere is not done easily. it can be very costly and risky (job loss, etc).