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Wanker

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An elementary school principal from fire-ravaged Ft. McMurray, Alta., is crediting her staff for ferrying 70 students to safety through the heart of the blaze.
Laura Dennis says the swift growth of the fire Tuesday afternoon left her with little choice but to get the children out of Good Shepherd Catholic School before official evacuation procedures could get underway.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/new...ng-students-through-wildfire/article29933292/
 
W

Wanker

Guest
Alberta’s oil sands have been spared a direct hit from the devastating wildfire that forced the shutdown of more than one million barrels a day of production, but it remains unclear when companies can restart operations.
After visiting Fort McMurray on Monday, Premier Rachel Notley will meet the next day with oil company executives to gauge the impact on the province’s biggest industry and discuss plans for getting it back on line.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/rep...down-amid-fort-mcmurray-fire/article29934120/

 

Des

Senior Member
Joined Apr 30, 2014
Messages 101
Russia, the U.S., Mexico, Australia, Taiwan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority have all offered help in fighting the northern Alberta wildfire, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there's no need for international assistance.

Last week Vladimir Puchkov, the Russian minister of emergency measures, offered to send heavy water bombers and specialized crews to battle the fire that's been raging out of control near Fort McMurray.

John Babcock, a spokesman for Global Affairs Canada, says there have been a series of other offers since the crisis emerged last week and they have been reviewed against requirements.

Trudeau says Canada sincerely appreciates the international support, but it isn't necessary.

He says water bombers and firefighters from other provinces, including Ontario, B.C., Quebec and New Brunswick, are getting a handle on the situation.

Babcock says accepting international disaster assistance would not set a precedent and has happened in the past, but he didn't provide examples.


Why is our PM acting this way?.
 
U

User-E

Guest
Russia, the U.S., Mexico, Australia, Taiwan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority have all offered help in fighting the northern Alberta wildfire, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there's no need for international assistance.

Last week Vladimir Puchkov, the Russian minister of emergency measures, offered to send heavy water bombers and specialized crews to battle the fire that's been raging out of control near Fort McMurray.

John Babcock, a spokesman for Global Affairs Canada, says there have been a series of other offers since the crisis emerged last week and they have been reviewed against requirements.

Trudeau says Canada sincerely appreciates the international support, but it isn't necessary.

He says water bombers and firefighters from other provinces, including Ontario, B.C., Quebec and New Brunswick, are getting a handle on the situation.

Babcock says accepting international disaster assistance would not set a precedent and has happened in the past, but he didn't provide examples.


Why is our PM acting this way?.

I think it's because he knows that nothing can stop this fire except for heavy rain, so it would be a waste of time and resources for other countries to send help to fight it.

Once you see how big the northern wilderness is, you can really understand that man is incapable of managing it.
 

papasmerf

Senior Member
Joined Aug 9, 2010
Messages 33,614
13139362_818452274928214_7827925861288393553_n.jpg
 

Esco!

Senior Member
Joined Jul 24, 2010
Messages 1,028
This was super nice of Shaq. He didnt really have to do this:



Just goes to show that even though we have our differences, the US and Canada will always be friends
 
C

cristycurves

Guest

oldguyzer

Reviewer
Joined Jun 19, 2011
Messages 15,066
Despite all the ufss of lookiong for someone to blame, there's no evidence I've heard or seen that the fuel companies are to blame. Finding a scapegoat is easier than finding the truth...
 
B

Boing

Guest
Welcome home, Fort Mac



The raw emotions pouring out of Fort McMurray have returned to the national stage as residents have begun their journey home.
The third wave of evacuees who returned to the fire-ravaged city Friday gave the rest of the country two important reminders.

First, they reminded us that the hardship is not over for their neighbours in Fort Mac.
Far from it. In fact, for some people there it’s only just begun.

Many are only now learning the fate of their homes. Are they still standing or did they burn?

Local resident Janet French offered her own powerful words to the Sun: “The most sad thing was on Wednesday, when I went and actually saw the physical scene where our house is reduced. You think you’re strong? You can’t prepare yourself for that. Kinda tough. Kinda tough, but must go one.”

There’s a lot of work to do. Make no mistake about it.

Residents are dealing with short term concerns like possible toxins in the air and towing away abandoned vehicles that are blocking the streets.
They’re grappling with these immediate issues while also mapping out a plan to deal with long-term challenges such as rebuilding their homes and businesses.

The Red Cross has already raised $125 million to assist in the recovery, which will increase once donations are matched by the federal and Alberta governments.
There will still be ways in the months ahead for Canadians to help their neighbours in need.

However, the other big part of this story is about more than the hardships faced.
It’s about the triumphs. Amidst all the tragedy, residents of Fort Mac came together as one.

As the blaze raged and the town faced evacuation, society didn’t fall apart. It grew closer together. It became stronger.
Neighbours looked after each other, showing remarkable generosity.

While a few unfortunate stories of looting did eventually emerge, the response to the crisis was by and large peaceful and law-abiding. Great Canadian community values prevailed.

As Edmonton Sun reporter Ameya Charnalia wrote Friday: “Fort McMurray residents of all stripes were at the Tim Hortons, including a group of RCMP officers chatting and laughing. There isn’t a more typical Canadian scene than that.”

Welcome home Fort Mac. The country cares about you and admires your strength.
 
U

User-E

Guest
RCMP asking for help in investigating Fort McMurray fire

RCMP say the Fort McMurray wildfire was “most likely the result of human activity” and are hoping to speak with anyone that used the Horse River Trail System in the days leading up to the start of the fire.

Working with provincial investigators, the RCMP says the investigation has ruled out natural causes such as lightning as a cause.

The fire, which was 589,617 hectares as of Tuesday afternoon, was first spotted 15 kilometres southwest of Fort McMurray on the afternoon of May 1 by an aerial forestry crew. The city was evacuated May 3.

The investigation does not mean police believe the fire was purposely started with criminal intent, rather that they are investigating if a criminal activity was present at the start of the fire.

“We are looking for evidence if any criminal offence was the cause of the fire, such as arson. We don’t have any reason right now to suspect it’s that,” said Cpl. Hal Turnbull with Alberta RCMP K Division. “There will be evidence telling us if a criminal element was involved or not. We have an eye for determining the cause.”

The trail system is popular with outdoor enthusiasts. There are also power lines in the area that may have been undergoing maintenance leading up to the fire. Police are hoping to speak with anyone who was there between April 29 and May 5.

“This is timely to be asking people now rather than six months down the road,” said Turnbull. “The area is revitalizing fairly quickly. We have to gather as much evidence as we can before it is lost to rain, snow, mud or time.”

Anyone who was in the Horse River area is being asked to call the RCMP’s toll-free wildfire investigation at 1-844-620-9826 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
 
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User-E

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Fort McMurray firefighters fear for health

Many Fort McMurray firefighters, unable to wear their usual air masks while battling a giant wildfire that attacked the northern Alberta city, are being screened for health problems because they spent several days breathing in hazardous smoke.

Some of the 180 crew have developed a persistent cough, says firefighter Nick Waddington, president of the Fort McMurray branch of the International Association of Fire Fighters.

Results of lung and blood tests will be private. But Waddington predicts the firefighters will need ongoing support and possible treatment for serious illnesses over the next 10 to 20 years. "Realistically, a lot of our guys, their lives are going to be shortened because of this incident," Waddington says bluntly. "When you compound that with everything that we're going to have in our careers, we're definitely going to be in a high risk."

The fire spread into the oilsands capital on May 3 and forced more than 80,000 people to leave. It destroyed roughly 2,400 homes and other buildings — about one-tenth of the city. Firefighters were credited with saving the rest of the community.

Municipal crews were assisted in the following days by firefighters from other communities and wildland firefighters from across Canada and other countries — about 2,200 in all.

But the hometown crew was there first, working around the clock, when the forest fire morphed into an urban blaze and moved from timber to buildings with toxins in vinyl siding, treated lumber and furniture.

Firefighters "would have been out there for long periods of time sucking in the smoke," says Fort McMurray fire Chief Darby Allen.

He explains that municipal firefighters normally wear a self-contained breathing apparatus. The air in the tanks might last up to an hour — enough time for going into a single house fire, but not for a marathon shift fighting flames consuming hundreds of homes. "We didn't have time to get back to the hall to charge (the tanks)."

Forest crews sometimes wear particulate filter masks. Waddington says those P100 masks aren't stocked in large numbers at municipal fire stations. Pallets of them arrived a few days after the fire raced into the city. But wearing such masks is a "double-edge sword," Waddington says. The filters make it harder to breathe and can get plugged.

And the half-masks can cause safety glasses and visors to fog, says Jamie Coutts, fire chief of Slave Lake, Alta. "How do you wear that for six days?" he says.

Coutts and 13 Slave Lake firefighters helped during the initial days of the Fort McMurray fire and he says he didn't get a filter mask. "I'm a firefighter. I've got a better-than-average chance of dying of cancer. It is what it is." Coutts says experts need to come up with a better way to protect crews when forest fires move into urban area. "They're going to have to make better particulate masks."

Peter Krich, president of the Alberta Fire Chiefs Association, says his group may look at whether filter masks should be stocked in communities in forested areas. The Fort McMurray fire was unusually large, Krich points out. "You're not just fighting one fire. You're fighting two fires, three, four, five ... It was going on and on and you could never stop."

The challenge, he says, is that firefighters will do whatever it takes without thinking of their health. "We have to learn," he says. "Hopefully we can ... be more prepared or help each other better in the event of something of this nature happening ever again."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmo...murray-firefighters-fear-for-health-1.3673305
 
W

Wanker

Guest
Fort McMurray firefighters fear for health

Many Fort McMurray firefighters, unable to wear their usual air masks while battling a giant wildfire that attacked the northern Alberta city, are being screened for health problems because they spent several days breathing in hazardous smoke.

Some of the 180 crew have developed a persistent cough, says firefighter Nick Waddington, president of the Fort McMurray branch of the International Association of Fire Fighters.

Results of lung and blood tests will be private. But Waddington predicts the firefighters will need ongoing support and possible treatment for serious illnesses over the next 10 to 20 years. "Realistically, a lot of our guys, their lives are going to be shortened because of this incident," Waddington says bluntly. "When you compound that with everything that we're going to have in our careers, we're definitely going to be in a high risk."

The fire spread into the oilsands capital on May 3 and forced more than 80,000 people to leave. It destroyed roughly 2,400 homes and other buildings — about one-tenth of the city. Firefighters were credited with saving the rest of the community.

Municipal crews were assisted in the following days by firefighters from other communities and wildland firefighters from across Canada and other countries — about 2,200 in all.

But the hometown crew was there first, working around the clock, when the forest fire morphed into an urban blaze and moved from timber to buildings with toxins in vinyl siding, treated lumber and furniture.

Firefighters "would have been out there for long periods of time sucking in the smoke," says Fort McMurray fire Chief Darby Allen.

He explains that municipal firefighters normally wear a self-contained breathing apparatus. The air in the tanks might last up to an hour — enough time for going into a single house fire, but not for a marathon shift fighting flames consuming hundreds of homes. "We didn't have time to get back to the hall to charge (the tanks)."

Forest crews sometimes wear particulate filter masks. Waddington says those P100 masks aren't stocked in large numbers at municipal fire stations. Pallets of them arrived a few days after the fire raced into the city. But wearing such masks is a "double-edge sword," Waddington says. The filters make it harder to breathe and can get plugged.

And the half-masks can cause safety glasses and visors to fog, says Jamie Coutts, fire chief of Slave Lake, Alta. "How do you wear that for six days?" he says.

Coutts and 13 Slave Lake firefighters helped during the initial days of the Fort McMurray fire and he says he didn't get a filter mask. "I'm a firefighter. I've got a better-than-average chance of dying of cancer. It is what it is." Coutts says experts need to come up with a better way to protect crews when forest fires move into urban area. "They're going to have to make better particulate masks."

Peter Krich, president of the Alberta Fire Chiefs Association, says his group may look at whether filter masks should be stocked in communities in forested areas. The Fort McMurray fire was unusually large, Krich points out. "You're not just fighting one fire. You're fighting two fires, three, four, five ... It was going on and on and you could never stop."

The challenge, he says, is that firefighters will do whatever it takes without thinking of their health. "We have to learn," he says. "Hopefully we can ... be more prepared or help each other better in the event of something of this nature happening ever again."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmo...murray-firefighters-fear-for-health-1.3673305

Damn.
 

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