On May 3, 2016, a massive wildfire – often referred to as “The Beast” – swept into Fort McMurray, triggering the largest wildfire evacuation in Alberta’s history. The devastating event also impacted other communities within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.
The damage was staggering, with total insured losses reaching over $3.5 billion ($4.7 billion in today’s dollars), making it the costliest insured disaster in Canadian history.
The true story of the fire is one of resilience: neighbours helping neighbours, emergency responders doing extraordinary things under dire conditions, and Canadians across the country stepping up when it mattered most.
In the days and months after the fire, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) and its members were honoured to stand beside other responders and the people of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) through the long work of rebuilding.
As we mark the 10th anniversary of the fire, this article pays tribute to the many people and acts that saved lives, restored a community, and helped RMWB residents move forward.
Residents helped each other
When the evacuation order came, thousands of vehicles funnelled onto Highway 63, inching south in a single continuous flow as the surrounding woods blazed. Those who were part of that flight described a surreal and unsettling scene.
In those early hours, residents stepped up for one another: handing out food and water to stranded motorists, sharing cars and driving duties, and opening their homes as evacuees reached other towns.
One respondent to a University of Alberta study, Residents’ experiences of the 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfire, Alberta, recalled that they “made some wonderful new friends and experienced the kindness of friends and strangers alike along the way.” Accounts like this were common, reflecting a community instinctively pulling together in a moment of profound disruption.
There were other quiet acts of courage that were subsequently celebrated in news reports. At one elementary school, teachers loaded 70 students into their own vehicles and drove them to safety at another school beyond the fire’s path. The convoy passed within metres of walls of flame as the neighbourhood of Beacon Hill burned. The teachers remained with their students until every child was safely reunited with their family – which meant postponing when they could return to their own homes and save their belongings.
In the face of crisis, Albertans bonded together – and stepped up.
Emergency responders were beyond brave
In July 2016, CBC reporter Marion Warnica published a remarkable long‑form piece titled Battling the Beast, capturing what Fort McMurray’s firefighters faced, and their extraordinary resolve, as the wildfire pushed into the city.
Reporting on how the fire first tore into the Beacon Hill neighbourhood then began to move to neighbouring areas, she wrote: “The fire roared into Abasand, burning up to 300 feet above the trees. The half‑dozen firefighters stationed there were like toy soldiers in front of a giant.”
It would, of course, get worse.
On a typical day, Fort McMurray has 36 municipal firefighters on shift across four fire halls. Once the fire reached the city, all 152 local firefighters were put to work battling the Beast. These were just the structural firefighters, dealing with blazes in town. Meanwhile, hundreds of wildland firefighters were battling in the surrounding forest.
Reinforcements would come from across the province and beyond. But in those early hours, local crews faced impossible conditions. As Warnica reported, they were “Trapped. Blind. With dwindling resources.”
The air itself was hazardous. IBC staff asked local officials about air quality and were told that, on a scale of one to 10, the current condition was…maybe a 54? Way off the charts. You could taste the particles in the air and being outside required a full respirator with dual cartridges.
“None of the firefighters thought of quitting,” Warnica wrote. “No one joined the line of cars driving away from the inferno. Instead, they stood in the water and the soot and did what they had to do.”
They endured toxic smoke, blisters, trench foot, and exhaustion. When hydrants ran dry, they improvised – using fire extinguishers, pails of water, and mops.
In the end, their efforts saved an estimated 85 per cent of Fort McMurray.
Support from across Canada
Emergency support arrived from across the country. Firefighters, incident management teams, water bombers, and emergency personnel travelled from other provinces to support local crews. Federal agencies mobilized supplies for evacuees – from cots and blankets to generators and personal necessities – while the Canadian Space Agency assisted by tracking the fire’s spread as it continued to rage.
Alongside these large‑scale efforts were quieter acts of generosity. Canadians across the country volunteered, donated, and mobilized support through national organizations and community‑led efforts.
Within a year of the fire, the Canadian Red Cross announced that more than $323 million had been raised through donations and government matching – the largest domestic fundraising campaign in the organization’s history.
It should come as no surprise, but it is always gratifying to witness: when a community is in trouble, Canada, as a nation, steps up.
Insurers were proud to stand alongside residents of RMWB as they rebuilt
With any disaster, once the heroic actions of first responders make it safe for residents to return, a new phase begins: insurers stepping forward to support families and businesses through the long process of rebuilding.
In the months and years following the wildfire, insurers supported claims for additional living expenses and business interruption coverage, while restoring and rebuilding homes, businesses and lives. Canadian insurers worked directly with affected residents, paying billions in claims and helping thousands of home and business owners resurrect a scarred town.
One respondent to the University of Alberta study cited earlier listed their insurer among the sources of support that mattered most during that difficult period: “My family helped, Red Cross, the government funding, my insurance company, and various businesses were very generous. Evac centres.”
Local leadership led the recovery
IBC staff arrived in Fort McMurray while the fires were still burning and immediately began working with the local officials who were overseeing the response.
Rob de Pruis, IBC’s National Director of Consumer & Industry Relations, who lives in Edmonton and had been a frequent visitor to Fort McMurray, described the scene as apocalyptic. On one occasion, bright light seeped through the closed curtains of his hotel room. It could not have been daylight – it was 2 a.m. When he opened the curtains, he saw the hillside burning so intensely that it looked as though the sun were out.
With much of the community damaged and the threat still active, it was all hands on deck. Municipal employees – some of whom had also lost their homes – were mobilized to help, taking on roles they never expected: supporting emergency operations, crisis communications, consoling residents, and directing people to food, water, shelter, and support services.
Coordination was critical. The command centre had to operate with precision, tracking where crews were deployed, ensuring firefighters were not cut off, and maintaining constant situational awareness in a fast‑moving and dangerous environment.
Under the most challenging of conditions, Fort McMurray’s local leadership performed admirably and effectively.
In the wake of disaster, a renewed focus on preparedness
Tragedy can be a catalyst for learning how to do things better in the future.
Under the banner of “Safe. Resilient. Together,” the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo developed and implemented the 2016 Wildfire Recovery Plan, setting a path for rebuilding and strengthening the community against future risks.
The municipality adopted the national FireSmart program to reduce wildfire risk. They introduced grants and programs to help residents FireSmart their properties. Measures include maintaining non‑combustible zones around homes, using fire‑resistant building materials, and managing underbrush.
The region is also highly susceptible to flooding, so steps were taken to strengthen flood mitigation measures as well.
Taken together, these actions reflect a community that learned from a devastating experience, and is better prepared for future disasters than it was before.
Endurance carried Fort McMurray forward
Recovery after a disaster of this scale is never quick or straightforward.
With many claims concentrated in a single community, there is a lot of strain on the system: shortages of skilled trades, logistical challenges, the inherent difficulty of rebuilding entire neighbourhoods at once. Rebuilding takes years, not months.
In the case of Fort McMurray, there were more than 60,000 claims.
Despite the challenges, by the second anniversary of the fire, 95 per cent of those claims had been settled – an impressive feat by the industry and contractors. As with any major disaster, the remaining claims were more complex and took longer to resolve.
Step by step, homes were rebuilt, businesses reopened, and daily life returned. Recovery demanded resilience by the people of Fort McMurray, and they proved to have it in spades.
News and social media played critical roles
Fort McMurray offers a compelling example of how media and social media can serve critical purposes during a crisis.
In the early days of the wildfire, mainstream media provided essential and continuous updates as evacuation orders and conditions changed rapidly, relaying information from emergency officials. In the months and years that followed, in‑depth journalism helped document the experience of the fire and its aftermath, preserving lessons learned and keeping national attention on Fort McMurray’s recovery. As the saying goes “journalism is the first draft of history.”
As for social media, a peer‑reviewed study from 2018 found that people who followed news about the Fort McMurray wildfire on social media expressed higher levels of care and concern for those affected – feelings that translated into helping behaviour. The study, from researchers at MacEwan University and Mount Royal University, and published in Information, Communication & Society, positions Fort McMurray as an interesting case study of social media serving a positive role post-disaster.
CAMP provided advice and guidance
IBC deploys CAMP (Community Assistance Mobile Pavilion) to disaster sites to help residents understand their insurance coverage, and support coordination with local governments and emergency officials.
In Fort McMurray, IBC’s first CAMP team arrived in mid-May, and remained embedded in the community through the end of November.
This was the largest and most involved CAMP deployment in IBC’s history. Staff worked directly out of city hall, maintained a presence at all eight local information centres, answered questions, liaised with officials, and coordinated major tasks at scale: the removal of approximately 12,000 spoiled fridges and freezers, and mass debris cleanup across more than 900 properties.
For IBC staff involved in CAMP, it remains an honour to have been part of the wider effort and to contribute, in a small but meaningful way, to Fort McMurray’s path forward.
Emotional toll lasts long after flames extinguished
The emotional toll of disasters is less visible – and less discussed – than physical or economic loss. But it is very real, and Fort McMurray is a striking example of how the psychological impact of disaster lingers.
A study led by University of Alberta psychiatrist Dr. Vincent Agyapong, published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, found that six months after the fire nearly 15 per cent of respondents were experiencing major depressive disorder – far above Alberta’s average of 3.3 per cent.
That reality was evident on the ground. IBC staff at CAMP booths recall residents, in the midst of discussing next steps, breaking down and weeping – overwhelmed by the magnitude of their losses and the uncertainty ahead.
Fortunately, community leaders increasingly recognize that recovery is not only about rebuilding structures, but about supporting mental health as well.
The emotional impacts of disasters also underscore why preparing for future disasters must be a top priority of decision makers across Canada.
Looking back on Fort McMurray’s response and recovery, did everything go perfectly? Of course not. Events of this scale rarely unfold without confusion or hardship, particularly in the early days.
What stands out, ten years later, is the shared sense of purpose that carried the community forward. Fort McMurray recovered – and today is stronger and better prepared than it was before.
But there is still much more to do for other communities all across Canada.
With severe weather events becoming more frequent and more intense, governments at all levels across Canada must continue to invest in making communities more resilient. This includes mitigation, emergency response systems, and long‑term recovery supports. As we reflect on the triumphs and lessons of Fort McMurray ten years on, the focus must remain on the future: reducing risk and building a safer, more resilient Canada.
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