Wildfire

[imoldernu]

I know this is not a news website, but thought to give a nudge to the wildfire that has just forced the evacuation of a town in Alberta Canada. From what news articles I could find, not too much attention yet. 88,000 evacuees and a whole town maybe up in smoke looks to be the beginning of a big story.
Makes the tornado that destroyed 500 homes in my campground last year, seem like a small incident.

https://weather.com/news/news/fort-m...berta-wildfire

McMurray has a population of 62,000.

[GrayHare]

There are not many alternative towns nearby. Ft. McMurray skews younger demographically because so many work in the nearby oil sands industry. Add charred trees to the oil sands and that is going to be one dark landscape for awhile.

[Nemo2]

It's getting attention up here:

1,600 structures lost in Fort McMurray as fire consuming city grows to 10,000 hectares | National Post

[imoldernu]

Not to beat a dead horse, but a jab at our news stations. Even with 24/7 coverage of Donald Trump. the most that I've been able to see after browsing the evening news, was one minute of coverage on NBC.

With some 80 thousands residents leaving their homes, with no guarantee that they'll be there when they're allowed to return, (which may not be for days or a week) it seems that the events should be newsworthy enough to at least make mention of what is live and in progress. The talking heads are so busy they have no idea of what is going on in the world.

Canada TV has many videos of the absolute terror of people in miles of traffic, with fire on both sides of the road, and cars that ran out of gas. Pictures of entire neighborhoods burned ... literally to the ground, and people who escaped with minutes to spare, with only the clothes on their backs.

So, out of a half hour show, 14 minutes on Trump. five minutes on Prince, and a quick cut of the president in Flint, a celebrity interview, and 7 minutes of commercial...

Here's a link to CTV, and recent videos of an inferno that most of us have never seen.

CTV News Edmonton special coverage of wildfires | CTV News

What ever happened to the "news"?

[HFWR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by imoldernu Not to beat a dead horse, but a jab at our news stations. Even with 24/7 coverage of Donald Trump. the most that I've been able to see after browsing the evening news, was one minute of coverage on NBC. With some 80 thousands residents leaving their homes, with no guarantee that they'll be there when they're allowed to return, (which may not be for days or a week) it seems that the events should be newsworthy enough to at least make mention of what is live and in progress. The talking heads are so busy they have no idea of what is going on in the world. Canada TV has many videos of the absolute terror of people in miles of traffic, with fire on both sides of the road, and cars that ran out of gas. Pictures of entire neighborhoods burned ... literally to the ground, and people who escaped with minutes to spare, with only the clothes on their backs. So, out of a half hour show, 14 minutes on Trump. five minutes on Prince, and a quick cut of the president in Flint, a celebrity interview, and 7 minutes of commercial... Here's a link to CTV, and recent videos of an inferno that most of us have never seen. CTV News Edmonton special coverage of wildfires | CTV News What ever happened to the "news"?

And some ads for ED and IBS?

[ExFlyBoy5]

News doesn't exist anymore here. It's all geared towards getting eyeballs on the tube so they can sell ad time. And for our great society, that means sensational crap. My preferred news channel was AL Jazeera America, but sadly they no longer exist. They covered way too many actual newsworthy stories to sell ad space.

Sent via mobile device. Please excuse any grammatical errors.

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyBoy5 News doesn't exist anymore here. It's all geared towards getting eyeballs on the tube so they can sell ad time. And for our great society, that means sensational crap. My preferred news channel was AL Jazeera America, but sadly they no longer exist. They covered way too many actual newsworthy stories to sell ad space.........

Blame Craigslist. Who knew that classified advertising was so important to funding real journalism.

[imoldernu]

Current estimates of the size off the McMurray fire are nearly 390 square miles. That's bigger than all of NYC and Austin TX, and closing in on being as big as all of LosAngeles (403 sq. miles). No end in sight, as the fire dept officials say it will take a major change in weather to slow or stop the fires.

The 8000 evacuees who drove north, have now been or are being flown out of the smaller camps and towns, to Edmonton. No indication yet of when the 80,00 residents will be allowed to return to the McMurray area.

Some news stations have started picking up on the story, but still no major headlines.

What made it so personal to me, was the number of displaced persons. In the minor metro area where we live (5 or 6 towns), the total population is less than 45,000 persons... about half of the 88, 000 who are displaced, without knowing when or if they have a home (or a neighborhood) to come home to.

Even more compelling... Much of McMurray was a center for families who had moved there, for a new start... with higher paying jobs in the oil fields. With those jobs already in decline, and the loss of their hoped for new homes and communities, many will never return. Young families starting over again in the matter of a few short years.

[Meadbh]

The Fort McMurray wildfire is prominently featured in foreign news sources, including BBC and European media. It's a major humanitarian crisis and has taken a large chunk of Canadian oil sands offline, with minor effects on oil prices.

Few US media outlets think this might be of interest to Americans. And perhaps it isn't. When I meet Americans abroad, I find I have to do a lot of explaining; even Americans who travel frequently have little knowledge of Canada. In contrast, a few weeks ago I shared a taxi in Italy with an Australian. His son had worked at a popular ski resort an hour from my home and he was well versed in Canadian current events.

It's unfortunate that most American news outlets underemphasize global news. Informed Americans need to seek out foreign news sources to get a balance.

FWIW, I do this myself.

[Meadbh]

Here are some more scary videos....

‘Trucks were charred on the side’: How one man took terrifying videos of the exodus from Fort McMurray | National Post

[eytonxav]

Has the US sent any volunteers/equipment to help?

[6miths]

Too bad these birds are too old for operational work anymore. The Martin Mars was quite an impressive sight fighting fires or even just sitting in the water for that matter. The company that owns them, Coulson Aviation which is based in BC, has sent one Sikorsky S-61 helicopter but it is obvious that this kind of specialized equipment is hard to come by. They may send another once it comes back from Australia!

[Meadbh]

This wildfire is Level 6. It is creating its own weather systems. Water bombers are the equivalent of spitting in the wind. A major rainstorm is what's needed to quench it.

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFW_M5 Has the US sent any volunteers/equipment to help?

Not so far as I'm aware. However, the Alberta and Canadian Federal government are both fully engaged and the Canadian Forces are providing logistics support. Even Syrian refugees are pitching in.

Trudeau says Canadians are united around Fort McMurray as federal response gets underway - Politics - CBC News

[Jack_Pine]

I watched some of those videos yesterday. the smoke in those vehicles has to be almost unbearable when they are going through the thickest parts. That would be scary if you don't know when it is going to end.

[Sunset]

The common joke in our house is when watching the news weather on tv, many channels show nothing above the border - just a blank space.

Which is why so many American's don't drive over the Canadian border, because they don't want to fall off the edge.

[MRG]

It's sad how ignorant the average American knows about our closest neighbors. Ask them anything about someone named Kardashian, stand back, they know lots.

Thanks for the links, scary disaster. Hope it's raining soon. Besides the 30 second "news" the only thing I've seen is a buddy from Minnesota posted how they expect some pollution from the blaze. Well go figure. Sure beats leaving everything you have lived with all your life.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by imoldernu Not to beat a dead horse, but a jab at our news stations. Even with 24/7 coverage of Donald Trump. the most that I've been able to see after browsing the evening news, was one minute of coverage on NBC.

There really hadn't had been much news coverage of the fire by the time you posted the above, but I guess it just took a while because there is plenty of coverage by now. It was all over our local evening news last night, and was the lead story on NBC news last night and today.

NBC News - Breaking News & Top Stories - Latest World, US & Local News

[travelover]

Is it too soon to ask why this happened? Just bad luck?

[kcowan]

DWs niece and family escaped with wallets, purses and animals. Staying in Edmonton. Early feedback is that their home was spared even though all the trees on the street went up like roman candles. Good work by the firemen. Cause not an issue until they get it under control.