Slave Lake, Alberta is on fire

[Candlelight]

That's very scary. I travelled through Alberta in 2006 and it was an absolutely lovely place.

I hope casualties are light.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Have there been any reports of injuries?

I haven't heard any. Looks like everybody got out safely.

Well, that's good to hear.

Slave Lake is just a part of this story. There are more than 100 forest fires burning in Alberta right now, including 36 that are out of control. There are so many fires that they're interfering with oil production.

No doubt the oil companies will be raising gasoline prices soon.

They should be investing in some additional firefighting resources.

 

[Canadave]

^ Ontario and British Columbia are both sending firefighters to Alberta, 400 to add to the 1,000 they already have on the ground. I don't know if any additional water bombers are headed out there, but I'd think Ontario could probably spare some of her fleet since there's been quite a bit of rain here so far this year.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I hope that's enough to stop the fires before more towns are lost or somebody is killed.

 

[DBR]

My brother is still trying to find out what has burned down and what has not. Apparently there just isn't any news yet. I can't imagine.

 

[Canadave]

I hope that's enough to stop the fires before more towns are lost or somebody is killed.

A lot of it depends on the weather. That's most of what caused things to get out of control in Slave Lake, as the high winds allowed the fire to move very quickly, while crippling firefighting efforts (water bombers were grounded, for instance).

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ We've had nothing but rain here for days. I wish I could send it where it's needed.

My brother is still trying to find out what has burned down and what has not. Apparently there just isn't any news yet. I can't imagine.

No idea when he'll be allowed to return to the city?

 

[DBR]

My brother is still trying to find out what has burned down and what has not. Apparently there just isn't any news yet. I can't imagine.

No idea when he'll be allowed to return to the city?

Nope. He's staying with friends in another town, quite frustrated, and I've checked on the net and phoned a few gov't hotlines, but simply put, it seems nobody knows or is saying much.

This article sums it up pretty good.

 

[RJDiogenes]

If there are people who never left and are okay, they should let people come back if they want to. Well, at least they are setting up a way to get information....