Discussion
  • Read More
    Ed SpockBrendan O'Connor
    5/04/16 11:23am

    Fortunately none of the people who evacuated have to worry about getting home in time to watch the next Stanley Cup playoff game that has a Canadian team playing in it.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      suupbraahEd Spock
      5/04/16 11:26am

      0/10

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      interrogator-chaplainEd Spock
      5/04/16 11:27am

      Fortunately they can still recollect the fond moments when Canada beat the U.S. for gold in the last two Olympic games. (Men and Womens divisions.)

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    XrdsAlumBrendan O'Connor
    5/04/16 11:36am

    But remember, kids, anthropogenic climate change is just a hoax perpetrated by greedy egghead scientists going after that sweet grant money.

    [related]

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      Cyber Mind GrrlXrdsAlum
      5/04/16 12:16pm

      Exactly. This is the first of what will be many in a long line of climate emergencies.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      Trumpmato TrollXrdsAlum
      5/04/16 12:58pm

      Good one. You almost never heard about a Canadian forest fire until this year. Oh, what’s that? Canada averages 10,000 forest fires per year?

      Listen, climate change is real, but ascribing every single natural disaster from now until the end of time as resulting solely from climate change means that you’re doing the exact same thing (in the opposite direction) as the climate change deniers. Can I say that the wet weather in the US this spring is evidence that climate change is not real? No, I can not. These things happen pretty regularly—even without climate change.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    Quasar FunkBrendan O'Connor
    5/04/16 11:27am

    An Out of Control Garbage Fire Will Force an Entire Nation to Evacuate To Canada

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      Dave Quasar Funk
      5/04/16 11:28am

      Far superior to my Trump Joke, I cede the thread to your superior Kinja.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      opiumsmabytchQuasar Funk
      5/04/16 11:43am

      We’ll have a nice warm spot in north Alberta ready to go for Americans to set up shop once we put our own fire out there.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    Montauk MonsterBrendan O'Connor
    5/04/16 11:42am

    Cartoonist Kate Beaton told a fantastic story about this place a few years ago.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      BSTrainerMontauk Monster
      5/04/16 11:59am

      Thanks for sharing - that was great. I know a lot of people who live, or did live, in Fort McMurray and the surrounding areas and that seems a pretty accurate depiction. Minus the cocaine and steroids that seem to feature prominently in a lot of the guys’ stories.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      XrdsAlumMontauk Monster
      5/04/16 12:12pm

      Kate Beaton is awesome.

      I have a client who sells products that appeal to uneducated young men with money burning holes in their pockets. During the boom years they shipped a lot of stuff to Fort McMurray, and had to institute mandatory insurance specific to them because of the amount of package theft that went on in that town. Par for the course with boomtowns, along with the prostitution and drugs and gambling.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    Kenhe LoginBrendan O'Connor
    5/04/16 11:25am

    It’s a city of about 80,000 people. It’s been very hot and very dry there.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      Bearded BastardKenhe Login
      5/04/16 11:30am

      they are saying about 60k now, and i would wager a bit less due to the economy, and not many people being there for work compared to last year.

      the entire province has been dry all winter, and barely enough rain this spring, if the wind catches this fire could easily affect the entire northern section of the province

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      LefredKenhe Login
      5/04/16 11:31am

      Used to be 120,000 - but about 40,000 people have left when the price of oil dropped.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    TraceBrendan O'Connor
    5/04/16 11:33am

    Know someone who had to flee. She, her coworkers (she’d been at work when it started getting bad), and family are all safely evacuated (and her area hasn’t lost any homes to the fire) but the pictures and stories she’s been tweeting have been harrowing. Last reported Beacon Hill was up to 80% gone, so it’s no surprise it’s being considered completely lost to this blaze at this point. :/ I cannot begin to imagine the rebuilding effort that lies ahead, this is horrible.

    Also props to the emergency people who evacuated the entire hospital in the city, it sounds like they did an excellent job protecting the patients (at least some have been sent to Edmonton, apparently).

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      Myxomatosis Trace
      5/04/16 1:49pm

      I feel this. My friend’s mom works for the fire department there and was staying on-site until really late last night. Partially because they were (obviously) really needed, but also because the highway south was so packed with vehicles and fire, that people couldn’t go south safely.

      She made it to Edmonton early this morning, so we're all breathing easier that she's safe and out of the danger-zone.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      MagPieNorthTrace
      5/04/16 2:25pm

      And the hospital is still open - they’ve removed the patients, but quite a few doctors and nurses stuck around in case they were needed.

      While the firefighters are doing an incredible job, it’s sometimes easy to forget the other first-responders who put so much on the line to help others.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    Desi_RelafordBrendan O'Connor
    5/04/16 11:35am

    This marks the first time ever somebody was excited to go to Edmonton.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      KomradKickassBrendan O'Connor
      5/04/16 11:33am

      An Entire City in Canada is Feeling the Bern

      Reply
      <
      • Read More
        HaighaKomradKickass
        5/04/16 11:36am


        An Entire City in Canada is Feeling Fleeing the Bern

        Reply
        <
    • Read More
      ShmataHariBrendan O'Connor
      5/04/16 11:34am
      Reply
      <
      • Read More
        Rutherford B. Hayes, caretaker presidentBrendan O'Connor
        5/04/16 12:15pm

        An Out-of-Control Wildfire Has Forced an Entire City in Canada to Evacuate.

        So you’re telling me Fort McMurray, Alberta is now Diahrrea Town?

        Reply
        <