In a matter of hours on May 3, 2016, tens of thousands of people were forced to evacuate Fort McMurray as a destructive wildfire closed in.
That fire was later called “The Beast” by emergency officials – a name derived from its rapid growth and unpredictability.
In a short time, the fire destroyed thousands of homes and buildings in Fort McMurray, becoming the largest insured catastrophe in Canadian history at the time.
Here’s a day-to-day look at how the disaster unfolded:
Early May, 2016: Wildfires in Wood Buffalo
Firefighters in northern Alberta battle three wildfires burning near Fort McMurray. On Sunday, May 1, Wood Buffalo Mayor Melissa Blake announces a state of local emergency for the Gregoire area, and mandatory evacuation notices are issued for a number of neighbourhoods in the city.
May 3, 2016: Fort McMurray evacuates
The wildfire situation in Wood Buffalo escalates quickly over the course of one day. Eventually, every resident of Fort McMurray evacuates as flames quickly spread into residential areas.
The first evacuation order isissued Tuesday, May 3 at 2 p.m. and more than four hours later, officials confirmed all residents were under a mandatory evacuation order.
In all, more than 80,000 people evacuate from the city.
May 4, 2016: 1000s of evacuees seek shelter in Edmonton, local fire crews head north
Thousands evacuate to industry camps and lodges north of Fort McMurray, and thousands more evacuate to centres south of the city, many of those ending up in Edmonton. Officials say many evacuees in the Edmonton-area find shelter with family and friends, with space for dozens at a reception centre located in the Expo Centre in Edmonton.
Meanwhile, a number of firefighters from Edmonton Fire Rescue plan to travel north to assist crews already working to battle the blaze.
May 4, 2016: Provincial state of emergency called
The province declares a provincial state of emergency.
Plus, officials release a first look at the damage done by the wildfire in each Fort McMurray neighbourhood. Officials said 90 per cent of homes were destroyed in Waterways, 70 per cent were destroyed in Beacon Hill and 50 per cent of the homes in Abasand were destroyed.
That afternoon, residents of Saprae Creek (a hamlet east of Fort McMurray), were ordered to evacuate.
May 5, 2016: Province-wide fire ban enacted
After the evacuation from Fort McMurray, the provincial government enacts a rare province-wide fire ban. The ban meant all fire permits at the time were suspended, and no new permitswere issued.
May 6, 2016: Wildfire expected to double in size, hot and dry weather blamed
Days after Fort McMurray is evacuated, the blaze continues to grow. Hot and dry weather conditions, and high winds are blamed for the fire’s growth.
A number of evacuees who headed north during the evacuation are moved south on Highway 63 in escorted convoys through Fort McMurray.
Meanwhile, members with the Canadian Armed Forces work alongside emergency crews in the area of Fort McMurray.
The Canadian Red Cross says donations for wildfire relief had reached $30 million – a figure that would be matched by federal and provincial governments – and each evacuee is eligible to receive a sum of either $1,260 per adult, and $500 per dependent.
May 7, 2016: Wildfire continues to grow, expected to reach Saskatchewan border
Officials say the wildfire was still growing, while evacuation orders continue to be issued for parts of the Wood Buffalo region.
At this time, it’s estimated the blaze has grown to cover a stretch of land about 2.3 times bigger than the size of Toronto.
May 8, 2016: Satellite images of damage to Fort McMurray neighbourhoods as firefighting conditions improve
Google Maps releases an online resource showing the damage in Fort McMurray.
Officials welcome cooler weather and light rain as crews continued work to gain the upper hand on the massive fire.
May 9, 2016: Officials say 2,400 structures damaged by fire
In one daily update on the wildfire, officials say the wildfire had grown to more than 200,000 hectares in size.
Officials also say a total of 2,400 structures were damaged in the fire, while nearly 25,000 were not.
Premier Rachel Notley and reporters were allowed back into the city to tour damaged areas – Fort McMurray Fire Chief Darby Allen said he estimated about 85 per cent of structures in Fort McMurray were still intact, as was Fort McMurray’s downtown infrastructure.
The tour came after federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale announced officials had started to switch to recovery efforts, even though firefighters were still dealing with hotspots and flare-ups.
May 12, 2016: Millions of dollars in emergency relief funds distributed to evacuees as wildfire continues to grow
Emergency officials say two days after the province started distributing funds to evacuees from the Fort McMurray area, $15 million had been handed out in pre-loaded debit cards to more than 12,000 evacuees.
Meanwhile, the wildfire had grown to 241,000 hectares, and was 13 kilometres from the Saskatchewan border. However, officials said Canadian Armed Forces members who had been helping on the ground were no longer needed.
May 18, 2016: Possible date for phased re-entry
In an update on the wildfire, Premier Rachel Notley said a phased re-entry for evacuated residents could begin on June 1 – if conditions didn’t change.
May 19, 2016: Wildfire crosses into Saskatchewan and smoke prompts air quality advisory in Edmonton-area
Officials say the wildfire had grown to more than 500,000 hectares, and had crossed Alberta’s border with Saskatchewan.
Meanwhile, heavy smoke from the wildfire in northern Alberta had been pushed south into Edmonton. The heavy smoke promoted air quality advisories in Edmonton and the surrounding regions.
May 22, 2016: Gas and electricity restored to most of Fort McMurray, fire still out of control
Officials said work to restore power and natural gas to Fort McMurray had continued around the clock – and at this point, the utilities had been restored to 90 per cent of undamaged structures in Fort McMurray.
At the same time, the wildfire was still burning out of control – and had spread to 522,000 hectares.
May 24, 2016: Donations to wildfire relief fund exceed $100M
The Canadian Red Cross said a total of $102 million had been raised for wildfire relief efforts – as the blaze continued to grow.
However, the province said a plan to have evacuees re-enter Fort McMurray a week later was still on-track to begin on June 1.
May 27, 2016: Reception centre at Northlands closes
The City of Edmonton announced the reception centre at Northlands was closed, as the people utilizing the facility had found their own interim housing and no longer needed to use the facility.
May 29, 2016: Firefighters from around the world fighting blaze, as wildfire continues to grow
The provincial government says the fire has grown to 580,000 hectares – including areas in Saskatchewan affected by the fire. Meanwhile, thousands of firefighters continued to fight the blaze including hundreds from the U.S. and across Canada, and a crew of about 300 firefighters from South Africa.
May 30, 2016: Re-entry delayed for some
Alberta Health said planned re-entry for residents of hundreds of homes not damaged in the fire had been delayed, after tests on ash, soil, air and water in those areas indicated some of the homes were not safe to live in.
More than 500 homes in Abasand, Waterways and Beacon Hill were deemed unsafe – residents of those areas had been scheduled to re-enter on June 4.
June 1, 2016: Phased re-entry begins
Less than a month after tens of thousands were forced to evacuate from Fort McMurray, the phased re-entry of those residents with undamaged homes began on June 1.
Returning residents drove into the city beneath the Canadian, Alberta and Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo Flags, that had been raised by firefighters over Highway 63.
Tens of thousands more residents were eligible to return home on June 2 and June 3 and into the weekend.
June 13, 2016: Wildfire listed as ‘being held’
Weeks after the massive wildfire forced the evacuation of an entire city, and had grown to nearly 590,000 hectares; provincial officials said the blaze was listed as ‘being held.’
June 14, 2016: RCMP seek details on investigation into massive wildfire
Wood Buffalo RCMP said investigators had determined the blaze started about 15 kilometres southwest of Fort McMurray, and was likely started by humans.
Police sought tips from the public in connection to their investigation. RCMP have not yet issued an update on this investigation.
June 17, 2016: Federal government pledges $300M to wildfire recovery
After a meeting between federal and provincial government officials, Ottawa pledged a $300M funding boost to go towards recovery efforts in Fort McMurray and the surrounding area.
June 21, 2016: Officials continue work to restore healthcare services in Fort McMurray
An update from Northern Lights Regional Health Centre said officials were still working to reinstate health care services to the area, with more details set to come out on the coming weeks.
June 24, 2016: Royal visit to disaster zone in Fort McMurray
Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, visited Fort McMurray –touring Fort McMurray with former Gov. Gen. David Johnston and the mayor of Wood Buffalo at the time, Melissa Blake.
She visited the neighbourhood of Beacon Hill, one of the neighbourhoods hardest hit by the wildfire.
June 28, 2016: Fire Aid concert to help fire evacuees
A day before Fire Aid, organizers release the set list for the concert. Acts include Dustin Bentall, Corb Lund, Blue Rodeo and Nickelback.
Proceeds from the concert go to United Way for rebuilding efforts in Fort McMurray.
July 7, 2016: Wildfire called the largest insured catastrophe in Canadian history
The Insurance Bureau of Canada released the total damage estimate from the Fort McMurray wildfire disaster: $3.58 billion.
The estimate broke a record set in 2013, when flooding in southern Alberta caused about $1.7 billion in damages.
August 2, 2016: ‘We are so far from normal’
Months after the sudden evacuation of Fort McMurray, CTV News checked in with the city – thousands of evacuees are still out of their homes and a restriction from Alberta Health still holds up construction.
Alberta Health had said construction could not begin until ash was cleaned up everywhere in Fort McMurray – and as of early August, that work continued.
August 25, 2016: Plan outlined for residents of Abasand, Beacon Hill to return
Officials say the phased re-entry to the neighbourhoods of Abasand and Beacon Hill will start on August 31. About two-thirds of residents in those neighbourhoods are eligible to return in the first phase. A total of 439 homes in those areas are deemed safe to return to.
At this time, officials have still not set a plan for Waterways residents to return home – 85 per cent of homes in that area were destroyed.
April 24, 2017: Red Cross gives fundraising update
In the week before the first anniversary of the wildfire evacuation, the Canadian Red Cross says about 75 per cent of the money raised following the disaster had been spent on direct assistance for families.
In a few days, the Red Cross said 65,000 families were registered with the Red Cross. A total of $325 million was raised through public donations.
March 10, 2017: Overpass renamed to honour first responders
Months before the first anniversary of the wildfire evacuation, the province and officials from the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo officially renamed a stretch of road to honour first responders.
A portion of King Street – the overpass over Highway 63 – was renamed Responders Way in a ceremony attended by the mayor, transportation minister and first responders.
May 3, 2017: Residents mark first anniversary of wildfire evacuation
One year after tens of thousands of Fort McMurray residents were suddenly evacuated, many gathered at Snye Point Park to mark the day.
Gatherings are also held in Fort McKay, Fort Chipewyan, Anzac and Gregoire Lake Estates.
At this time, the municipality told CTV News rebuilding work was underway – with 652 building permits approved.
