Canada Wildfires Rage as State of Emergency Declared
 

Canada Wildfires Rage as State of Emergency Declared

Terrible & heartbreaking for so many families......thoughts and prayers for our friends to the north......

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Its bad...

Just gave some money to the Red Cross "Alberta Fires Emergency" appeal which is match by the Federal and Provincial Government.

Up to 90,000 evacuated from Fort McMurray; some ordered to move again as fire spreads - The Globe and Mail

Just donated. Smoke had already made it down to where I live.

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What a disaster. The images are incredible. Hope you remain OK.

I can't even imagine what that's like. I live in a heavily forested valley and so this could happen. All blessings to those impacted by this.


I need to check my homeowners policy and see if wildfire is covered.

wow... that's crazy!

Wow, and Emergency personnel standing strong to get everybody else out. Just wow.

I agree with you to see if wildfire is covered but figure now is not the time to do it coz they will be crazy busy at the insurance co.

Our neighbors took in a young couple from Fort Mac. Their Toyota Sienna van was loaded including two pet cages.

I will give to Red Cross as well. I cannot imagine what these folks are going through. Loss of a house and a job. Brutal.

Guy

PS As a preventive measure we have removed all fir/pine trees from our property. We have also talked our neighbours into taking down 3 large pine trees that posed a fire hazard next to our houses. Everything is so dry....

I just did a little reading on this weather pattern called the Omega Block which is apparently feeding this event. Incredible.

The calmness portrayed while people evacuating was amazing. No one was hurt or killed.

I never cease to be amazed that we can send probes to Mars, laser guide bombs up a terrorist's a$$ with a drone, but we cannot manage to create a strong fire fighting force (maybe at the UN level or similar?), a separate arm like UN troop, that could be deployed as needed and work across (at least) continents or something. Airplanes, trucks, men... It's a lot more useful than one more nuclear sub, day to day...

+1 , very impressive. Then again you ALL sing the anthem at hockey games. I'm sure if that was filmed someplace else (nudge,wink) there would have been people driving down walkways.

The neighbors next door have a couple from Fort Macmurray staying with them and they have 2 boys(one grade 11 and the other grade 12) . Apparently the family got split up and he flew out with one boy and she drove out with the other boy. Apparently she took a wrong turn from Fort Mac and the 2 of them ended up sleeping in the car overnight. Finally they got reconnected in Edmonton. Now they are our new neighbours - all 4 of them! My wife is taking food over for them now.
Guy

So Canada has only 4 submarines from I found. Not one is nuclear powered. So you figure they should give up the subs and spend that on firefighters? I guess they could give up the entire Navy as well and just hope the USA can protect their coastlines?

I sure hope you don't mean I should pay a more taxes to pay for firefighters in Canada. What about Mexico, should our tax dollars help the fire departments in Mexico as well?

Those fires are a real tragedy. I feel real sorry for the residents there. I hope they get it under control real soon.

Sometimes I think the internet is designed so that people can find ways to misunderstand one another;-) No, that is not quite what I wrote or mean... Nor am I asking Canada to sell a sub... I'm saying in this day and age, with all the talk about climate change and carbon in the air, fire fighting is still in the 19th century... It's amazing to me we cannot have a multinational (and multi-funded) force that is as well equipped as a modern airforce/army, and whose job it would be to go help wherever the big fires are. Firefighters are not busy all the time, it makes sense to spread the funding and allocate that force where it's needed... Anywhere in the world... That's why I was mentioning the UN, as far as "that level"... like the blue helmet UN soldiers ( but not the UN specifically, they suck)

Pipe dream? Maybe, but I don't see why it should be, already lots of firefighter volunteers come from abroad to help in major fires... Why not extend idea that to a force that has a fleet of airplanes, choppers, trucks, specialists, for who this would be their only job ??? They sure would see more use than the military !!! anyway, let's carry on misreading each other ;-)

Whatever is behind those people must be pretty bad if they're driving toward that flaming hell. Prayers for you guys.

Total devastation in and around Fort Mac!.....those poor people loosing not only their homes but also, more than likely, their livelihood....in an instant!

As JJ and I did, if you can help, please donate to the Alberta Fires Appeal@

http://www.redcross.ca/

Any amount will be matched by our federal government to boot!

I know how helpful Pelicans are so any amount will make a difference!

Cheers!

Its hard to visualized but the fire size it the size of Ottawa which is 10 time the size of Manhattan Island.

Yes, correct (they are Boomer killer), no, no, no, Mexico reference ?, yes, yes and we all hope so but until they get some rain it might not get under control.

P.S. The reason of my post (#2) was not to ask for assistance from our friend South of the border but rather to acknowledge Baz concern post and as well to get traffic from the Canadian Pelican which is 100:1 on the "Off Topic Discussions" vice the "Canada" site. Sorry if my post came across as it should belong to the "Off Topic - Politics and Religion" forum.