2016 Fort McMurray Wildfire

2016 Fort McMurray Wildfire Horse River Fire
Fort McMurray residents evacuating along Highway 63 as the fire encroaches on the area
Location	Wood Buffalo, Alberta Northern Saskatchewan Canada
Coordinates	56°42′N 111°23′W / 56.700°N 111.383°W / 56.700; -111.383Coordinates: 56°42′N 111°23′W / 56.700°N 111.383°W / 56.700; -111.383
Statistics
Cost	$3.58 billion (insured damages) $9.5 billion (direct and indirect costs)
Date(s)	Evacuation: May 3 – June 1, 2016 Provincial state of emergency: May 4 – July 1, 2016 Wildfire: May 1, 2016 – present
Burned area	589,552 hectares (1,456,810 acres)
Land use	Boreal forest, Residential, Oil Sands
Buildings destroyed	2,400 665 work camp units
Injuries	0 1 missing
Fatalities	0 (direct) 2 (indirect)
Map
Location in Alberta

On May 1, 2016, a wildfire began southwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. On May 3^[update], it swept through the community, forcing the largest wildfire evacuation in Alberta's history. Personnel from the Canadian military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as firefighting forces from Alberta, other Canadian provincial agencies, and South Africa responded to the wildfire. Aid for evacuees was provided by various governments and via donations through the Canadian Red Cross and other local and national charitable organizations.

After sweeping through Fort McMurray, the wildfire destroyed approximately 2,400 homes and buildings. Another 2,000 residents in three communities were displaced after their homes were declared unsafe for reoccupation due to contamination. It continued to spread across northern Alberta and into Saskatchewan, consuming forested areas and impacting Athabasca oil sands operations. It is the costliest disaster in Canadian history.

The fire spread across approximately 590,000 hectares (1,500,000 acres) before it was declared to be under control on July 5, 2016. It continues to smoulder, and may not be fully extinguished until the spring of 2017. It is suspected to be caused by humans in a remote area 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Fort McMurray, but no official cause has been determined to date.

A local state of emergency was initially declared on May 1 at 9:57 p.m. MDT (03:57 UTC May 2) with the Centennial Trailer Park and the neighbourhoods of Prairie Creek and Gregoire under a mandatory evacuation. The evacuation orders for the two neighbourhoods were reduced to a voluntary stay-in-place order by the night of May 2 as the fire moved southwest and away from the area. However, the mandatory evacuation order was reinstated and expanded to 12 neighbourhoods on May 3 at 5:00 p.m. (23:00 UTC), and to the entirety of Fort McMurray by 6:49 p.m. (00:49 UTC May 4). A further order covering the nearby communities of Anzac, Gregoire Lake Estates, and Fort McMurray First Nation was issued at 9:50 p.m. on May 4 (03:50 UTC May 5). It has been reported that 88,000 people were successfully evacuated, with no reported fatalities or injuries, but two people were killed in a vehicular collision during the evacuation. Despite the mandatory evacuation order, staff at the water treatment plant remained in Fort McMurray to provide firefighters with water.