On the first anniversary of the Fort McMurray wildfire, a blaze dubbed ‘The Beast’ by officials, residents gathered at a number of events to mark the day.

From 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Wood Buffalo officials hosted a day-long event at Snye Point Park, including a breakfast, lunch and dinner, and activities for attendees including yoga, meditation, a pipe ceremony, art activities and more.

Gatherings were also held in Fort McKay, Fort Chipewyan, Anzac, and Gregoire Lake Estates, Conklin and Janvier in the days following the May 3 anniversary.

Late Wednesday morning, Wood Buffalo Mayor Melissa Blake and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley held a joint news conference in Fort McMurray to talk about the anniversary.

“This is a very difficult day; we’re here to mourn and to remember,” Notley said. “Of course we mourn the two lives that were tragically lost: Emily Ryan who was 15 and Erin Hodgesen who was 19.

“We also mourn all that the fire took from people, their homes, their baby photos and all the belongings that helped to anchor so many cherished memories.”

Back on May 3, 2016, the wildfire that started in the bush days before spread quickly, eventually forcing the evacuation of every resident of Fort McMurray. More than 80,000 people fled the blaze, later called The Beast by officials because it had grown fierce and unpredictable.

On Wednesday, both Notley and Blake both recognized the efforts of Albertans, and Canadians, who donated money, time, and items to help the tens of thousands of evacuees forced out of Fort McMurray.

“On behalf of our residents, I want to take this opportunity to give a huge thank you to everyone who helped us up when this disaster knocked us down,” Blake said. “We’re filled with gratitude for every seemingly small gesture that was made when we were forced to flee our homes.

“Most of us left with practically nothing and in true Canadian style, we were met with open hearts and open homes.”

“More than a million Canadians donated to our cause, our entire community has been personally touched by that assistance,” Blake continued. “It meant more than you will ever possibly know. We will always remember the exceptional kindness and compassion we received.”

Notley thanked Blake for her leadership during the disaster, and the residents who worked together during the evacuation.

“When the evacuation came, you looked out for one another, you showed us all what a selfless and caring community looks like, and we will never forget that,” Notley said.

“Same too with every family from Lac La Biche, St. Paul, Athabasca, Edmonton, Calgary and so many other areas who took in evacuees and did whatever they could to help out their fellow Albertans.”

In all, the majority of Fort McMurray was spared – but the fire destroyed more than 1,600 buildings, or more than 2,600 homes.

In the year since the May 3 evacuation, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo said 31 homes have been rebuilt completely, or 1.2 percent of homes destroyed, but the foundations have been poured for 484 homes (18.8 percent).

“If you drive through the neighbourhoods that were most impacted you’ll find a buzz of activity,” Blake said in the Wednesday news conference.

The municipality said 652 building permits have been approved.

“For a lot of our population, the year would have gone fairly quick,” Blake said in an interview with CTV News. “If you’re a person who’s still struggling to get through your insurance claim and has a house that you’re not occupying yet, or you’re in the rebuilding process and aren’t quite there, this year would’ve been slow for you.”

Blake and home builders are expecting a building boom during the spring and summer.

As for the population, there isn’t official census data for before and after the wildfire, but municipal officials estimate the population before the fire was about 85,000, and after the fire, it dropped to about 73,000.

“The actual sentiment in the community I suspect is there is some apprehension related to today’s milestone event, but there is still a real go-getter kind of attitude where people are not willing to be defeated by this kind of natural disaster,” Blake said.

With files from The Canadian Press, and CTV’s Bill Fortier