Fort Mac

restoman

restoman

The paint fumes have cleared so I'm
Some pretty serious shit going on up there.
The size of the fire has grown 8 or 9 times since Tuesday and shows no sign of being brought under control anytime soon.
My Uncle has - had - a house in the Beacon Hill part of town. Nothing there but rubble now and the charred remains of his 7000 mile Hemi 300 and his neighbours '62 Vette that was stored in his garage for the winter... :(
Luckily, he left town last Sunday for his lake cabin 300 kilos south of Fort Mac and is safe and sound with his two dogs.
 
Currently at 850 sq kms burned. They need a lot of rain badly with no lightning. Ontario has sent 100 firefighters in to help. Our ex neighbours is probably among those as he has been a crew leader with the ministry for a few years and has been shipped around a lot.
 
My heart goes out to everyone affected. That's one hellish conflagration that seems to be putting us in our place v. nature. How do you stop something like that? Even containment seems almost impossible.

What really bothered me is the social-media backlash about it--against the victims themselves--revolving around something as stupid as politics. Holy shit, people, these are real human beings with lives every bit as important as your own. Sad what this world is becoming.
 
They're saying that there is no way to put out the fire without a good rain to help.
The water bombers they are using are just a stop gap to try to keep areas from catching, but the bombers are pretty much useless against the existing fire.

One interview with a fire official said that while more fire fighters are not a bad thing, what they really need is more equipment for the fire fighters to work with.



And yeah, the political and other shit is disgusting. Saying that they deserve it because they are the cause of the change in climate that created the conditions for the perfect fire storm. Just bullshit.


On the flip side, there have been a lot of great things. I just read a Facebook post from a guy that has vacant houses in three cities in the south of the province. He's made them available, rent free, on a temporary basis for anyone that has been evacuated.
 
wifes got family out there...and newfie

the vids of it are..AMAZING...it makes me realise the devistation and massive scale that the tillimook burn would have been that my grandfather faught
 
Just unreal. I couldn't imagine what these people were feeling. :(

[video=youtube_share;ieTQvIdG-Vo]https://youtu.be/ieTQvIdG-Vo[/video]
 
Dr.Jass said:
My heart goes out to everyone affected. That's one hellish conflagration that seems to be putting us in our place v. nature. How do you stop something like that? Even containment seems almost impossible.

What really bothered me is the social-media backlash about it--against the victims themselves--revolving around something as stupid as politics. Holy shit, people, these are real human beings with lives every bit as important as your own. Sad what this world is becoming.
Click to expand...

I have had a tough time even BEING on social media due to the ignorant clowns using other people's misfortune to promote their political views. This applies both to the unwashed earthmuffins saying shit like the residents of Ft. Mac deserve what they get and the far right wing using this to attack our admittedly useless Prime Minister and Alberta's socialist Premier...

Both groups of people should get over themselves and maybe use that energy to actually help. There will plenty of time for politics after the people of Fort Mac get the support they need.
 
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I've seen very little of that kind of crap on Facebook, or maybe just didn't pay it any mind... People who post that kind of nonsense get no time out of me. I figure if they're that ignorant, life itself will deal with them and my response isn't necessary.

Got an email from my Uncle - it's confirmed his house and garage are total losses. He's started his insurance claim and anticipates a good long wait before anything gets settled.
He's one of the luckier ones. He has another place to live and seeing how he was planning on being there for a couple months, had taken a lot of personal items - and his dogs - with him when he left Fort Mac.

It's tough to imagine losing your home, let alone most of the city you live in...
 
I think the crap diminished after the first couple days, probably because most people made it very clear that it was inappropriate and unwelcome.

I fulfilled a lifelong desire and got to see The Who in concert last night. Right after the band finished their opening number, Pete stepped up to the mic to acknowledge the fires and the human crisis created by them. He also said, that what he most appreciated about Canada is how we put aside our differences and pull together to help each other in times like these. Said he can't think of another place in the world the same....

....I'd rather take that away from this tragedy than the other thing.
 
On another board I belong to, I posted support and prayers for the people up there and to those fellow board members that are from that area. I had to question the lack of acknowledgement and support after a day that I got a little heated about it. Finally some replies came in but only 6 more other than my 2. The post had over a 140 views and to me a total lack of feeling for others hardships. They had better hope that that shoe doesn't fall on their feet. I hope for nothing but the best and safety for those up there and that the governments and insurance companies don't drag their feet with these peoples live at stake.
 
71dusterman said:
Finally some replies came in but only 6 more other than my 2. The post had over a 140 views and to me a total lack of feeling for others hardships.
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Go easy on some of 'em, man. The magnitude of what's happened there is so stunning, people just might not know what to say or even how to deal with it--so they say nothing. It's not always willful ignorance; I can tell you I've sat here slack-jawed and speechless (and that's pretty rare) looking at pictures and watching drive-through videos of the devastation. I can't even imagine how I would react to something like that striking here. Almost 95% of my life's history is in this town; to see the old house burn would be one thing, but virtually everything? I honestly can't process that concept.
 
Dr.Jass said:
Go easy on some of 'em, man. The magnitude of what's happened there is so stunning, people just might not know what to say or even how to deal with it--so they say nothing. It's not always willful ignorance; I can tell you I've sat here slack-jawed and speechless (and that's pretty rare) looking at pictures and watching drive-through videos of the devastation. I can't even imagine how I would react to something like that striking here. Almost 95% of my life's history is in this town; to see the old house burn would be one thing, but virtually everything? I honestly can't process that concept.
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Agreed. It's hard to take it all in....

It's unbelievable. Estimated 1600 structures burned so far. Quite a few are apartment buildings, so there is no telling how many people lost their homes. They are talking 9 billion dollars in insurable property damage within the city itself. So far the oil sands industry surrounding the city hasn't been touched, but they are all shut down - which is pushing the price of oil up and the value of the dollar down. It's also hard to grasp the the size, ferocity and scale of this fire. They expect it to take months to put out....and then only if they see some significant rainfall. Thankfully, it hasn't yet crossed over to Saskatchewan as they were expecting it too yesterday.

I'm impressed with how Western Canadians pull together in times like this. Hadn't been on the news for an hour when Saskatchewan's Premier was already offering assistance despite significant political differences with Alberta's leadership, who at that point were flailing around rather uselessly. The people of Saskatchewan gave $640,000.00 in one day to the red cross via a hastily thrown together radio telethon. Indian nations are opening up their reserves so evacuees have somewhere to stay if they are able to camp.... Western Canadian based airlines went into full emergency services mode, helping evacuate people from the city hospital and elsewhere. A couple drove six hours with truck loads of flowers to give to displaced mothers on Mother's Day. Labatt breweries shut down a beer production line so they could respond with canned water. Even a group of Syrian refugees in Calgary has launched a donation drive to help support displaced residents of Fort McMurray. And of course there's the firefighters, police & other first responders..........

People are putting aside political, commercial, racial and religious differences to do the right thing....we could all learn from that.
 
im with doc on that...but furthermore will add to it that had it not been for my wife..and this forum id have never even known about it....i keep my head out of the new entirely cause there is NEVER any good news..its all drama and bad shit...no point in feeding your head with bad shit you cant do anything about right?...leaves more room in my head for my own life
 
restoman said:
Then there is this...
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/trudeau-turns-down-russian-u-mexican-offers-help-174826832.html

Officials on the ground say these groups of fire - 49 at last count - could burn for months and that we might not have yet seen the worst. Nice that Ottawa feels that everything is under control.
Click to expand...

People might not know this about me, but I'm of the opinion that pretty boy Trudeau couldn't find his own ass using both hands. And that the meek old guy he has chosen as his "public safety minister" does nothing to make me feel safer in any way.

But I think I might be willing to give them a pass on this. I have to assume that they consulted with the professionals who are on the ground as to whether the additional assistance would be of benefit or not before refusing it......

....at least I hope they would have done that.
 
seeign that pic..of the TOTAL destruction..im reminded of something i say every time i see a bunch of new houses pop up...NO 2 buildings should be any closer than 2 fire trucks can pull thru AND crews activate..as i see it as a FIRE HAZZARD building any closer than that(as a minimum honestly id like to see 1 acre per house minimum)..flames jump...and jumping flames are a fire fighters worst enemy right behind perfect conditions for a fire and no rain
 
Not A Duster said:
People might not know this about me, but I'm of the opinion that pretty boy Trudeau couldn't find his own ass using both hands. And that the meek old guy he has chosen as his "public safety minister" does nothing to make me feel safer in any way.

But I think I might be willing to give them a pass on this. I have to assume that they consulted with the professionals who are on the ground as to whether the additional assistance would be of benefit or not before refusing it......

....at least I hope they would have done that.
Click to expand...
That'a a big presumption... I wonder if anyone who has lost or is going to lose property feels the same?
The story I linked doesn't really go into specifics but all those offers of help were made last week, before officials on the scene determined that they might be getting a handle on things. I think Russia's offer was made as early as last Wednesday.
 
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