Wildfire

imoldernu

imoldernu

Gone but not forgotten
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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-mcmurray-alberta-wildfire

McMurray has a population of 62,000.
 
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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.
 
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"?
 
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imoldernu said:
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"?
Click to expand...


And some ads for ED and IBS?
 
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.
 
FlyBoy5 said:
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.........
Click to expand...
Blame Craigslist. Who knew that classified advertising was so important to funding real journalism.
 
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.
 
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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.
 
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Has the US sent any volunteers/equipment to help?
 
Ch15-Mars_1000px.jpg


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!
 
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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.
 
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.
 
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. :D
 
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.
 
imoldernu said:
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.
Click to expand...

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
 
Is it too soon to ask why this happened? Just bad luck? :confused:
 
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.
 
travelover said:
Is it too soon to ask why this happened? Just bad luck? :confused:
Click to expand...

I've heard that, several years ago, it was noted that the forests in that area are primarily 'old growth', i.e. trees in the last stages of their life cycle, drier, and more susceptible to fires, (which of course, is nature's way of "Out with the old, in with the new" vegetation wise).

That, plus hot weather, not much rain, and perhaps some strong winds, will do it.
 
Meadbh said:
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.
Click to expand...

Actually, it's prominent on the CNN website (although not in the list of most read stories) whereas Al Jazerra English has it under a Trump story.
 

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FlyBoy5 said:
Actually, it's prominent on the CNN website (although not in the list of most read stories) whereas Al Jazerra English has it under a Trump story.
Click to expand...

Yes, the apocalyptic videos have increased the news profile. Yesterday it was a minor story on the CNN app.
 
Meadbh said:
Yes, the apocalyptic videos have increased the news profile.
Click to expand...

Very true. I watched a video on the BBC website (compilation of folks evacuating) and it's very sad to see. Thankfully here in north Georgia, we don't have to worry about it too much. My DW's family is out in Oklahoma and they have had some issues in the past, but NOTHING compared to what's happening up there.

It's sad that it has to get SO BAD before it's mentioned by the media. I am glad there are online sources for "news", if we had to rely on the "good old days" of watching the national news at 7, it would be too painful to watch. Speaking of which, I tried to watch the ABC Nightly News with David Muir just to see how it's changed with the "new" anchor...it's just as bad as the cable news providers. Every single story in the first 12 minutes was "BREAKING NEWS!!!" Isn't the news broken enough?

Without getting political or off topic for long, I wish our elections were being held tomorrow. I am so sick and tired of hearing about it...and I do my best to ignore it, but geez...it's EVERYWHERE. Well...except here...THANK GOD!!! :D
 
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