Fort McMurray wildfire

[The_Squid]

Really? We're going to whine over a couple days before the PM visited? lol Talk about petty...

[bush_cheney2004]

The thing about this fire is that it is so big and so hot that it is unique, almost unheard of in Canadian history.

Unique compared to what ? The biggest wildfire in North American history was the 1950 Chinchaga fire...so it has happened before. Many others in Canadian history with loss of life.

[Derek 2.0]

I think it's safe to assume all hotel/motel beds are filled.

And you would be wrong (and I actually checked several hotels that I've stayed at before well in transit), there are thousands of free beds in greater Edmonton, especially near the airport, where there are literally miles of no frills mega hotels, that catered to O&G workers in transit North.....now near empty with the downturn in oil.

[Derek 2.0]

I don't know what the numbers are at other Edmonton relief centres but its safe to say they won't be as large as this one. So we're not talking 30,000 people going to hotels but rather around 1,000.

Exactly, as most of the displaced people were fly-ins (who just went home), have friends/family in Alberta or are already put up in hotels by their insurance companies............the Canadians stuffed into the expo center like cattle are going to be your working poor and immigrants that lived up in Fort Mac and worked in the service industries or were unemployed.

[Derek 2.0]

I swear, it's like critical thinking is at a premium when you're drinking the blue koolaid.

I doubt you'd suggest that the Bush administration handled Katrina well...........do some critical thinking on why Bush screwed up then, and Trudeau is screwing the pooch now......

[Derek 2.0]

I can agree that he shouldn't be visiting the fire area do to the risk but why can't he be visiting the relief centers where the actually evacuees are?

Exactly, including the Northlands center........Would Trudeau take selfies with sick people?

[Smallc]

Yes, this is a huge fire and we won't know its true extent until it is eventually extinguished. It is however far from largest in Canadian history. What makes it 'unique' is its proximity to a major modern settlement.

I just quoted it, I didn't write it.

[Derek 2.0]

Yes...I called every hotel. We are good..

There are hundreds of hotels in the Edmonton and surrounding area. The the largest and main relief centre had 600 people sleeping there which I estimate means there could be about 1000 people needing rooms. Of that its safe to assume many of those will be families and will share a room, so the number of rooms could be something like 600-700. That's 6-7 rooms per hotel at the most.

Don't know if you remember...but the Alberta economy is not doing so well and hotels aren't booked up the way they used to be.

You don't need to phone them , you can check online.......you can even get two king size beds in most near the airport for ~$100, forget Northlands, put them up in Leduc

[Smallc]

I doubt you'd suggest that the Bush administration handled Katrina well...........do some critical thinking on why Bush screwed up then, and Trudeau is screwing the pooch now......

How many people died in Fort McMurray?

[Smallc]

Exactly, including the Northlands center........Would Trudeau take selfies with sick people?

Yeah, what does Trudeau have against sick people?

[Derek 2.0]

We need an honest and impartial investigation to guarantee that this does not happen again.

I agree 100%. If this is how government responds to ~90k displaced Canadians from a fire.....what are they going to do when we have millions displaced by the "big one" leveling metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island?

[Smallc]

Not at the shelters.

Rona Ambrose wasn't in the way. As per your linked article:

Rona Ambrose doesn't cause near the disturbance that Justin Trudeau does. Besides, he has a job in Ottawa. He's visiting at about the perfect time in terms of logistics and safety.

[Smallc]

I agree 100%. If this is how government responds to ~90k displaced Canadians from a fire.....what are they going to do when we have millions displaced by the "big one" leveling metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island?

The response by the government of Alberta and the support from the Trudeau government has been widely praised by non partisan people capable of critical thought.

[Derek 2.0]

You might want to go right to the firefighters who've been fighting for the past week and let them know just how incompetent they are.

The fire fighters didn't cut their own budget.

[Smallc]

The fire fighters didn't cut their own budget.

Nor were they short of resources during any point in the response to the fire, from all accounts.

The reality is, Alberta cut its budget in many places. There wasn't a choice in the matter.

[Derek 2.0]

How many people died in Fort McMurray?

Thankfully (and by luck for many) none, but this fire will have a greater impact on our economy than Katrina had on the American economy.

[Big Guy]

It is an absolute certainty that at some point a massive earthquake will devastate the Lower Mainland in BC. It could be in 10 minutes, it might be in 1000 years. But it is a certainty. It will probably be accompanied by tsunami and major flooding. In your world view, should the population of Vancouver be moved to high ground right now? If not, why not?

I am sorry that you have never seen and don't understand forest and grass fires. They can and do move as fast as the wind blows. This must be a difficult time for you. Alberta sends its best wishes.

Your analogy is silly and patronizing and certainly does not deserve an honest reply.

I suggest that I understand forest and grass fires as well as anybody else. Fortunately there are posters like ?Impact who chose to spend their posting time on positive ideas and suggestions. Why do you waste your and my time with with cheap shots. Go bother somebody else.

[Smallc]

Thankfully (and by luck for many) none, but this fire will have a greater impact on our economy than Katrina had on the American economy.

First - it isn't by luck. It was by quick, prepared, organized action on the part of the authorities in Wood Buffalo, supported by the Governments of Alberta and Canada.

Second - That remains to be seen. According to Premier Notley, things can get back up very quickly, as almost all of the critical infrastructure was unharmed.

[Smallc]

I suggest that I understand forest and grass fires as well as anybody else.

I suggest that's uninformed arrogance.

[Derek 2.0]

Yeah, what does Trudeau have against sick people?

You need to rephrase that.......he had no problem greeting with open arms Syrians, but couldn't have made an effort meeting displaced Canadians. What's the over under for Trudeau going to meet with people in the midst of a viral outbreak at the Northlands expo center?

[Bonam]

It is an absolute certainty that at some point a massive earthquake will devastate the Lower Mainland in BC. It could be in 10 minutes, it might be in 1000 years. But it is a certainty. It will probably be accompanied by tsunami and major flooding. In your world view, should the population of Vancouver be moved to high ground right now? If not, why not?

No, but adequate preparations should be made to prevent as much loss of life as possible and minimize the property damage when the earthquake does occur. This includes better tsunami warning systems and evacuation routes, better seismic codes, mandatory retrofitting of older buildings to meet modern seismic codes with very few if any exceptions, and region-wide earthquake preparedness drills. A magnitude 9 earthquake is not unsurvivable. There has been a lot of writing on this topic about reasonable preparations that could be made, but that are unfortunately not being made. There are other choices between evacuation and simply letting tens of thousands of people die and incurring a trillion dollars in economic damage.

For example, there are systems that can reliably give up to a 30-90 second warning of an impending earthquake, which are in use in Japan but not in the Cascadia fault zone. A 30-90 second warning would not give enough warning to reduce property damage but would certainly save thousands of lives as many people would have time to take cover, exit a building, or step away from objects that could be dangerous in an earthquake.

You can be certain that when the earthquake does happen, there will be plenty of legitimate blame to go around for inadequate preparations, because Vancouver is most certainly not taking every reasonable and affordable precaution to prepare for it, and neither is Seattle or Portland or any of the other cities likely to be severely affected.

Returning to the topic of fires... unlike the impending catastrophic Cascadia earthquake, wildfires are a predictable and regular yearly occurrence and the measures necessary to prevent them from affecting urban centers are well understood, if not always practical to implement.

[Derek 2.0]

Rona Ambrose doesn't cause near the disturbance that Justin Trudeau does. Besides, he has a job in Ottawa. He's visiting at about the perfect time in terms of logistics and safety.

You've got that right, Trudeau travels with his royal court, nannies and media circus......Trudeau was clearly busy in Ottawa last week ensuring Canadians might once again be allowed on Jeopardy........and what logistics and safety concerns?

[Derek 2.0]

First - it isn't by luck. It was by quick, prepared, organized action on the part of the authorities in Wood Buffalo, supported by the Governments of Alberta and Canada.

Second - That remains to be seen. According to Premier Notley, things can get back up very quickly, as almost all of the critical infrastructure was unharmed.

I consider people not dying in burning cars and trucks on the highway to be luck......And it does remain to be seen, and Notley can say all she wants, but as pointed out by Bloomberg, in a weak oil market, companies and people might not be quick to return....if ever.

[Smallc]

You've got that right, Trudeau travels with his royal court, nannies and media circus......Trudeau was clearly busy in Ottawa last week ensuring Canadians might once again be allowed on Jeopardy........and what logistics and safety concerns?

Justin Trudeau is the Prime Minister of Canada. He can do more than one thing of a time, and had a very busy week that happened to include Trebek.

You need to rephrase that.......he had no problem greeting with open arms Syrians, but couldn't have made an effort meeting displaced Canadians. What's the over under for Trudeau going to meet with people in the midst of a viral outbreak at the Northlands expo center?

I would be surprised if he doesn't go to an evacuation centre.

[Smallc]

I consider people not dying in burning cars and trucks on the highway to be luck......

They didn't - because the evacuation happened in an orderly and organized fashion...and with just enough warning.

And it does remain to be seen, and Notley can say all she wants, but as pointed out by Bloomberg, in a weak oil market, companies and people might not be quick to return....if ever.

The oil market is not quite as week as it was only 6 months ago.