Oh crap!

 

I feel very, very, very small after looking at those last two photos.

 

That fire is a real nightmare. Last I read (this AM), they'd evacuated 88,000 people, more evacs expected, and a lot/most of town likely to be consumed. Hard to imagine a wildfire causing destruction on this scale in the "first world" these days.

Thoughts and prayers for those affected.

 

Dramatic Timelapse Footage Of Fort McMurray House Burning Down As Owner Watches On WebCam

Fort McMurray resident James O'Reilly watches on his iPhone as his home of almost 20 years burned to the ground just minutes after he and his wife fled the oncoming wildfire.

Video from a dash cam - note that everyone is trying to get out of there are the same time, resulting in massive traffic - from satellite photos, it looks like there is only one major roadway in/out of Fort McMurray. See the pics in the article linked to in the OP for aerial shots of the traffic jams next to the wildfire.

The entire town of 88k people was ordered to evacuate. These people loaded up (those that had time) and drove away knowing their homes were likely going to burn down to the ground.

Ffwd to 20sec mark.

 

Ffwd to 20sec mark.

Good lord you couldn't make that film up. Reminds me of watching Dantes peak.

 

Damn that sucks. Fire is an awesome power.

 

Why do people wait until it is that bad to leave. Motel 6 will leave the light in for yah. Just sayin.

 

.

 

Russia offers water bombers, specialists to help fight Fort McMurray fire

A water bomber drops its load on a wild fire some 16 kilometres south of Fort McMurray, Alberta on highway 63 Friday, May 6, 2016. (Jonathan Hayward / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Murray Brewster , The Canadian Press
Published Sunday, May 8, 2016 4:47PM EDT
Last Updated Sunday, May 8, 2016 5:14PM EDT

OTTAWA -- The Trudeau government has yet to respond to an offer by Russia to dispatch massive water bombers and fire fighting specialists to battle the growing inferno around Fort McMurray, Alta.

The proposal was made late last week by Vladimir Puchkov, the Russian minister of emergency measures.

A spokesman for Russia's embassy in Ottawa, Kirill Kalinin, said Sunday that they continue to stand "ready to help our Canadian partners to fight the ongoing wildfires in Alberta."

http://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/world/...sia-offers-water-bombers-specialists-to-help-fight-fort-mcmurray-fire-1.2893439

 

Geez, that fire in Alberta is burnin' up the little town where the Arctic Winter Games will be held in 2018.
When I visit in two years, it's gonna be like goin' to Yellowstone in 1990.

The fire in Slave Lake, a small town 155 miles northwest of the city of Edmonton, led to the destruction of 374 homes...

 

I drove through a small, but uncontained brushfire in SC once. A ton of FD workers were trying to contain it but some hot summer winds swept it across the interstate I was driving on. Yes, the wind swept the fire across the interstate, with nothing to burn on the blacktop, til it caught the grass in the median on fire. I happened to be driving through when the flames were blown across the road....it was crazy as hell...like some big nature-based flame thrower. I don't think the FD realized the interstate was in jeopardy (or it got away from them before they could close the road).... And that was nothing compared to that fire in Canada.

 

holy crap

 

They should put a shovel in the hand of every Syrian refugee that was taken in and let them dig a firebreak.

 

Those folks that fight wildland fires are a different breed.

Every damn one of them clang when they walk.

 

Unfortunately, their rep is tainted by the fact that many wildfires are started by them (a small minority no doubt).

 

How was the Alberta fire started?

 

I don't think there is any definitive answer to this yet.

But they've had drought conditions and dry/warm weather, so lots of dead trees and relatively dry vegetation. Under those conditions, an improperly supervised campfire or lightning could have been the initial spark.

 

In other news, if you had to go RIGHT NOW, how long could you survive environment/predators notwithstanding? I have a go bag, but it needs a makeover. I've never contemplated being stuck a few days in large crowds of zomb...demo...liber...other people.

 

 

This is very sobering. This could honestly happen anywhere and anytime...and people ask why you prepare. Here is why.

I will certainly be praying for these people.

 

Damn....

My helmet's off to those who do it and FWIW, most all of the folks I see doing wildland f/f are fit as f*ck.

I'd rather have 10 structure fires than 1 wildland fire.

 

I'm the complete opposite, structure made me uneasy. I always felt safer in the woods.

 

A shell of a city: Charred remains are all that's left in Alberta as crews are finally able to get in and begin picking through the smoldering ruins of 2,400 destroyed homes

• Alberta Premier Rachel Notley got her first direct look at the devastation on Monday, almost a week after the fire
• At least two neighborhoods have been reduced to ashes, the gas has been turned off and the water is undrinkable
• Officials want to start planning the residents' return to their homes but haven't published a schedule yet
• Parents who had to leave the area have been advised to register their children in other schools
• The fire, which began last Tuesday, continues to grow outside the city and now is about 787 square miles

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...icle-3581550/Alberta-premier-tour-fire-ravaged-Fort-McMurray.html#ixzz48DDQ3lvx
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