#YMMFire

[disanddatmedia]

“A Forest In Regrowth" Taken with Canon T6I Location: Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada Taken: Summer 2018 Taken and edited by David William Paturel (Dis & Dat Media) Edited with the software PhotoScape All rights of photo(s) reserved to Dis & Dat Media (David Paturel) #disanddatmedia #photoscape #photo #photography #ymm #fortmcmurray #fortmac #alberta #canada #canon #canonphotography #explorealberta #hiking #hikingadventures #hikingphotography #summer #summer2018 #2018 #ymmfire #forest #woods #forestfire #remains #burnt #burnttrees #ashes #regrowth #recovery #tree #trees (at Fort McMurray) https://www.instagram.com/p/CE91uEuFs9C/?igshid=vrxy0rhs3wol

[elizabeth-kolacek-blog]

Bug had a great time, loves the water. Didn't notice while at the lake but it looks like the #ymmfire hit the backside. 2 other kiddos had better things to do. #lake #floatingdock (at Gregoire Lake)

[oneyearlaterahs]

Joe – Edmonton

Small Community; Giant Heart

It has been a year but I can still remember the swirling emotion of that day. The aborted attempt to return home, the terrifying sight of trees “candletopping,” the sense of dismay as we realized that the way home was blocked and the anxious uncertainty as we headed north of the city searching for food, fuel and shelter.

It has been one year since Mark and I were trapped by the wildfire in Fort McMurray. Our attempt to head south out of that city was stymied by the incredibly aggressive wildfire and the RCMP who turned us back for our own safety. The city was being evacuated and we were forced to head north.

We were getting very low on fuel so we chose Fort McKay as our first destination, trusting that we would be able to refuel and find some sustenance. First we reported to the Band Office and registered. We were welcomed with open arms by caring and empathetic people whose concern for our wellbeing was genuine and generous.

Our first night was spent listening to every scrap of information regarding the fire and attempts to shift people south. We were able to partially refuel and the communal kitchen fed us. It was very late by the time we made our way to bed. We slept in makeshift beds in the community hall anxious that the fire may turn and force yet another evacuation. The community hall became our kitchen, dining room, bedroom, meeting area and social focal point. The children played outside or on the floor inside. Families arranged activities to keep them amused.

But it was the people of the community that worked together to feed and house us that made the biggest impression on me. They put forth a mighty effort to make sure we wanted for nothing, opening their elder’s facilities, arena and community hall and grounds to cover all the amenities required. They pulled long shifts in the kitchen, serving nutritious and tasty food all day long feeding the multitudes that descended on their village for succor. I am convinced that the community population swelled to more than double its size during the first days following the evacuation as wave after wave of evacuees were welcomed.

The members of that community pulled together and sported good humor throughout. Even in the ensuing days when the adventure becomes a never ending chore did they break character; they just continued to make us feel welcome and catered to our needs. They provided all they could and more, a sympathetic ear when needed, warm food and shelter and a place to wash away the smoke and ash – all provided with good humor and a smile. I am honored to have been exposed to such giving, caring and unselfish people and they will always occupy a soft spot in my heart.

[alibalibooboo]

A year after #ymmfire I'm watching a special on the fires and it's giving me chills.

from Twitter https://twitter.com/ali_carpenter

[canadaaction]

Fort McMurrray Strong. #ymmfire https://t.co/BHz0IWHCcN

Fort McMurrray Strong. #ymmfire pic.twitter.com/BHz0IWHCcN

— Canada Action (@CanadaAction) May 4, 2017

via Twitter https://twitter.com/CanadaAction May 03, 2017 at 06:04PM

[anarchycox]

Words cannot express how amazed and proud I am of the good dr cox for presenting this lecture. I talk about him a lot here, now is a chance to see some of what he does.

the lecture starts at minute 18.

[disanddatmedia]

"The Beast" Taken with the Canon T2I Location: Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada Taken May 2nd, 2016 Taken and edited by David William Paturel (Dis & Dat Media) Edited with the software PhotoScape All rights of photo(s) reserved to Dis & Dat Media (David Paturel) #disanddatmedia #photoscape #photo #photography #ymm #ymmfire #fortmcmurray #alberta #canada #spring #2016 #spring2016 #forestfire #naturaldisaster #fortmacstrong #thebeast #smoke #canon #canonphotography #fire (at Fort mcmurray, alberta) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz3WwIAHfCe/?igshid=1we11goy7tl42

[oneyearlaterahs]

Elaine – Calgary

When I read about AHS’ OneYearLater Fort McMurray Virtual Scrapbook my thoughts went immediately to the people of a partner organization I had the opportunity to work with – the University of Calgary Team. As AHS’ U of C Evacuee Health Centre was set-up on campus, the U of C team became AHS’ ‘friends of the time’ and together, much determination to ‘do right’ for evacuees and one another was demonstrated. Through our collaborative partnerships we were able to meet the primary health care needs of the evacuees we were privileged to help. Community Primary Health Care delivered by all.

Photos:

Resident Services staff at the University of Calgary work at the Dining Centre Friday afternoon to prepare for the first arrival of evacuees from Fort McMurray. Photo by Riley Brandt, U of C.

Residence Services frontline staff. Photo by Riley Brandt, U of C.

Many of the University of Calgary Residence Services staff members worked long days to support hundreds of displaced Fort McMurray residents staying on campus tempoeraliry until the evacuation order was lifted. Photo by Riley Brandt, U of C.

http://ucalgary.ca/utoday/issue/2016-05-13/campus-community-proud-support-fort-mac-fire-evacuees

[henryabascale]

Bear With Me...Part 2

So my week up in Fort Mac has come to an end and it’s a very bittersweet feeling. I’m writing this as I sit in the mess hall, surrounded by a sea of people, all volunteers, some who drove two or three days to get here, everyone from a different walk of life. There’s a bunch who’s houses have burned down but have shown up to help other people with their houses. There’s a dude who just beat cancer. A dude who was a prisoner in the Soviet Union and told me all about how he escaped. A whole boatload of retired folk- who upon discovering I was the youngest person to ever show up, immediately became my grandparents and was the source of an endless supply of fruit cups. I have like twenty grandparents now.

The work that is happening up here is amazing. It’s backbreaking, exhausting work, and its not even close to being done, but these people have done it for days and some for weeks, and kept a smile on their face the entire time.

We had to go into burned down houses and sift through the remains for anything of value that might have survived. And because some of these houses are old, there’s asbestos and heavy metals and other fun chemicals, so you have to put a full hazmat suit on with gloves, boots, masks. The problem is, these suits are meant to keep everything out. Which means there’s no breathability. And in a burned out basement- which gets up to 40 degrees Celsius in the afternoon, you are bathing in your own sweat. When you desuit, water pours. POURS. Out of your gloves, suit and boots. I don’t think I can ever complain about sweat again.

There are so many stories I can tell, and I’ve told some to some of you already. I’m not allowed to post things publicly but if you’re interested, hmu. Some of this stuff is tragic, and some of it is just a crazy miracle.

But the one thing that really stuck with me was this one phrase everyone kept saying. “It’s not about the stuff, it’s about the people.” And I get that. Some days, you go through the debris and you find a wedding band. Other days, all you find is this random clay pot and people are just as happy. People are so incredible, so resilient and so surprising.

I may not have any new attachments or sentiments to this city that I’ve been in for the last week. But I love the bunch of strangers that I’ve met here. I’m a socially anxious people person- I was super uncomfortable with all these strangers. But I don’t regret it at all.

Thank you for all the support and encouragement that have been coming in. Some days are really heavy and even the smallest thing- like a dog running up to my truck for some pats, does wonders for me. So thank you.

Can I say this one thing I know I am not really qualified for?

This city will take years, maybe decades to be rebuilt to what it was. But the people. Oh the people are already healing.

My heart is full. (Of fruit cups :P)

- a smol, bicycle, bear, Kae (Bicycle because I’m too tired get it? Eyyyy)

[disanddatmedia]

"Thank You" Taken with Canon T6I Location: Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada Taken: Fall 2019 Taken and edited by David William Paturel (Dis & Dat Media) Edited with the software PhotoScape All rights of photo(s) reserved to Dis & Dat Media (David Paturel) #disanddatmedia #photoscape #photo #photography #ymm #fortmac #fortmcmurray #alberta #canada #canon #canonphotography #explorealberta #towerroad #backroad #dirtroad #ymmfire #manythanks #thankyou #thankyoufirstresponders #fall #autumn #fall2019 #autumn2019 #2019 #thanks #graffiti #graffitiart #graffitimessage #greatful #positivevibes (at Fort McMurray) https://www.instagram.com/p/CTL-PUVM_tb/?utm_medium=tumblr

[1stinseo]

There is a terrifying beauty to this fire. I stand in awe. The Weather Network, Jaclyn Whittal #ymmfire

[oneyearlaterahs]

Petrina – Fort McMurray

Facilities Management & Engineering staff poses on the rooftop of the hospital one year after Fort McMurray wildfire.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Canada's economy contracted by 0.6 per cent in May, as wildfires in Alberta and a slowdown in manufacturing elsewhere in the country combined to create the worst monthly GDP figure since March 2009.

Canada's gross domestic product was hit hard by the Fort McMurray fires, as the non-conventional oil and gas extraction sector declined by 22 per cent in May.

Coming on the heels of an 8.1 per cent decrease in April due to maintenance shutdowns at upgrader facilities, the output level for the oilsands is now at its lowest since May 2011.

"The good news is that the fall should prove to be a one-month wonder," BMO economist Doug Porter said.

But other sectors of the economy didn't fare much better.

Manufacturing output was down 2.4 per cent, the largest decline since January 2009.

Utilities declined 1.8 per cent as electric power generation, transmission and distribution were lower, as was the natural gas distribution sector.

Although it wasn't enough to offset large drops in oil and manufacturing, the service sector expanded during the month, led by retail, arts and entertainment, finance and insurance.

If the impact of the wildfire were to be stripped out, the data agency says, the economy still would have shrank by about 0.1 per cent during the month.

"When we look through the wildfire-generated volatility, the picture that emerges is of an economy that, following a strong December and January, has been just trudging along," TD Bank economist Brian DePratto said.

"While this is not the worst outcome, it does point to an economy that is largely treading water as the adjustment to lower commodity prices continues.

[chimponpurpose]

Rho Delahunty, Ft. McMurray Fundraiser: I made cream puffs, meringues, chocolate chip cookies, then I finished the strawberry cobbler, the raspberry cobbler, and we made chocolate chip muffin cupcakes. It was just so much stuff. It was like boom!

When the Fort McMurray wildfires became an international news story, Rho Delahunty decided to do something to help the relief effort instead of just watching it all play out on YouTube. Taking a cue from her charity-minded children, Rho made a herculean effort to put on one of the fanciest bake sales ever with only a few days notice.

Rho sets an amazing example for her children, teaching them the importance of giving back. But she also shows us what can be done with the skills and time we have available to us. Rho’s organization and dedication to a hobby combined with help from her local community resulted in a success that helped provide assistance to those affected by the wildfires.

We talked to Rho about planning a sell-out bake sale, the goodwill in her neighbourhood, and cream puffs.

On the wildfires: Fort McMurray happened and the kids said, "Oh mom where's that?" I said, "Well it's not really far. It's in our country. It's really close to home.” They said, "It's like a war zone. That's just crazy." Then the kids said, "Oh we should do some fundraising." They got really excited about it.

On sponsorship: I called Safeway first because I wanted to get permission to go to a place where there is lots of traffic. I was really surprised that they said yes. It's a great location on the corner. There is a bus stop there. Lots of people go to that Safeway.

Then I called the Staples on Lougheed Highway to ask if they could donate the photocopies for the flyers and the stuff. Wow, did I speak to the right guy. The manager did everything for me. He said, "Our biggest location is in Fort Mac and it was really affected. I'm so glad you guys are doing this."

Then I approached the McDonald's down on Alpha. I said, "Do you mind donating a big tub of juice because we're going to have a lemonade stand," and they did, as well as ice. That was very, very helpful. Just a few little things like that helped us a lot.

On baking: Saturday morning I went to my mom’s. My mom lives at my sister's house. My sister lives in the laneway house, so I had two ovens. I ran from one to the other. I think I was baking all day Saturday until midnight. My husband is like, "Are you almost done?" I was like, "Almost done. I'm on my last cobbler." I didn't want to disappoint anybody. I think I made cream puffs, meringues, chocolate chip cookies, then I finished the strawberry cobbler, the raspberry cobbler, and we made chocolate chip muffin cupcakes. It was just so much stuff. It was like boom!

On hobbies: I'm very particular with my stuff because I love party things. I love parties, I love making it right. It wasn't just going to be a bake sale, it was going to be that rustic style bake sale. It was going to have the banner. It was going to have the nice writing. It was going to have the nice packaging and everything, and that was what I wanted to do.

On the sales tactics of children: They are very, very sweet. The used their charm. They weren't pushy or anything like that. The people were just very happy with what these kids were doing. They're helping out with a big disaster and they're having so much fun. Such a blast. I think by 3:30 we sold out, $813.

On her parents: They always say, "Don't forget where you came from." Because we came from nothing and my dad worked hard. In the '70s he came here and brought five kids. For the last 30-something years my mom has been sending boxes to the Philippines out of her own pocket. She'd put like coffee, spam, corned beef, things that you can use, toothpaste. I want my kids to learn the same thing, money doesn't grow on trees, don't forget there's other people out there who are less fortunate.

You can give to any of the 30 different Fort McMurray wildfire support groups on Chimp.