Disaster for the town of Slave Lake, Alberta. Video.
Wind gusts that accelerated the advance of fires and grounded water bombers Sunday afternoon allowed the fire to jump two highways. Afterwards, it was free to tear through the Alberta town of 7,000 people. A long list of hundreds of buildings have burned down – including city hall, the police station, the radio station and countless houses.
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Meanwhile, flames blocked all but one road, trapping many residents in the town and leaving officials to urge people to simply flee to wide open parking lots or beaches, and hope the fire doesn’t reach them. Traffic along the one highway was slow, as residents navigated through thick smoke amid waning daylight Sunday evening.
Main street – Town Hall.
This Reddit thread has more info – as if 9pm local time: Friend on Facebook just posted that the Brick, the library are GONE and the Ford dealer is on fire. Shocking! Edit: also the school and the Sawridge Hotel! Edit: 9:30 pm Also the hospital, the courthouse, the police station, 92.7 radio are now gone. Highway 2 east is open for now.
There seems to be little by way of media coverage yet, so Twitter seems to be the go to place, if you can keep up.
@790CFCW
Slave lake fire continues to burn out of control. Entire town of 7000 expected to be gone by morning.
Via Newswatch Canada, evacuation video. Frightening stuff.
WTF?
Wow, this is an incredible event. Condolences & Best Wishes for the towns people of Slave. A very nice little northern Alberta town owned and run by the local aboriginal band. A real success story until now.
Yikes! The wind is howling to…not good.
What can you say in the face of such disaster? Time to send a check. It won’t take long to rebuild. Countrary to public opinion the oil companies put out a lot of bucks for communities like this.
This has to be one of the worst years in Alberta’s history. The winds have been howling for a week now all over the Province. This after a winter from Pluto.
The good folks of Slave Lake will bounce back. Of that I’m sure.
Mean while prayers & contributions would help.
JMO
I first visited the lakes and the town with my best friend. After she died, I’ve visited a few times. I’m filled with sorrow for everyone affected.
It has been unusually windy all through Alberta this week. There was a large multi-hopuse fire today in Calgary too.
Sorry to hear about Slave Lake. I drove through that area in the mid 1960s in a well service truck.
Wow. That’s scary. I spent two winters working in the area, and part of a summer. That was my R&R location, so I’m quite familiar with it. Been about eight years since I was there, and there was a lot of new development at the time. This is going to be devastating to a wide area. I hope the province gets some emergency resources in there sooner rather than later, and that the feds get the CF in there to help.
I don’t know anyone there, but this just leaves me stunned, and I can’t totally explain why.
Several hours into this major disaster, and apparently nobody at our billion plus dollar year state broadcaster has noticed. Unbelievable.
Another Calgary Marc >
“I don’t know anyone there, but this just leaves me stunned, and I can’t totally explain why.”
You took the words right out of my mouth!
I also spent many months over many years working up there over a decade ago. Always liked & respected the town, yet hated the work.
Although I have no connection with it anymore, I feel almost as devastated with the news as if were my own town. At the moment I’m a half a world away and wish I was there to physically help.
I have family there. We haven’t been able to get in touch with them.
This is sad indeed. My prayers go out to the towns people and their families.
My god, I hope everyone makes it out all right.
This morning the weather, for north central Alberta, called for gusts of 80kph. It was ALL of that, believe me!
Only thing missing was funnel clouds.
Red Cross line is (780) 523-3388 as per 630 CHED for folks wondering about their loved ones.
HOLY CRAP! I have friends there. Haven’t been there for years, but I think it’s grown a bit. I’m looking for a report, and all I can find is an older report on the weather network.
I didnt watch the news all day and I can’t believe it!! I lived in Blairmore Alberta during the Lost Creek Fire and we were evacuated on my son’s birthday, but the town managed to survive (and the other towns apart for some outlying homes) because the wind decided to die down on the most crucial night. It was a horrific experience. We were evacuated twice actually, during a 3 week period. It makes me feel ill for those people because who knows what it will look like by morning. I live way down south and it’s been terribly windy here all day – I can just imagine up there. They said 100km/hr gusts off and on all day there. Terrible. I will be checking first thing in the morning to see what has happened overnight 🙁
Check ctv.ca and go to the Edmonton affiliate (CFRN) for more info. Also check http://www.630CHED.com and the Edmonton Journal as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kma8_BIo54&feature=youtu.be
Slave Lake has been my home for the past three years. I was on my way back home when the flames reached the town… I can’t tell you how helpless I feel not being able to have made it back home to salvage precious memories for my young family. Many of us are still in shock over how to deal with this tragedy when so much of the town is apparently gone.
Thanks to all for your thoughts, prayers, and support.
Drove through maybe six years ago – the vegetation near town was just regenerating from the last forest fire – but it hadn’t hit the town.
Good luck to all!
The lack of interest by the publicly funded Socialist CBC Party of Canada is truly amazing. Proof that all money robbed is not equal in the eye’s of the Liberal Left – Alberta is 100% conservative, so not worthy of national coverage that may stimulate private aid to those “knuckle draggers” in need.
According to the article on the CBC website, “several buildings had burn down after residents had been forced to flee.”
Shit, they make it sound like this whole thing was a minor disturbance. Too bad Slave Lake isn’t in Japan or something. The relief concernt venue would already be booked, and every damn store I go to would be asking if I wanted to donate money to spme sort of effort.
Wonder how many Carbon Credits the CBC figures we in Alberta will owe Al Gore & China, once this all plays out?
It is considered too “hick” for the tall foreheads at CBC.
They would all rather be in Vancouver doing stories on Insite.
Words fail.
My prayers go out to all folks of Slave Lake.
my thoughts and prayers go out to you all in slave lake my goodness may god have mercy !!! if there is any bright side to this at least it happened in spring/summer and not our cold crappy winter. again god bless and i will donate to the casue as soon as i verify a reputable charity/donation type of set up.
god bless you people. if someone is in dire need my doors are open for perhaps a couple or a small small family say of three.
just let me know on here i live in airdrie.
And the front page of today’s Toronto Red Star has a banner story about Ontario schools ‘forced’ to close libraries; the IMF head’s rape story; and a piece about the Pali attacks into Israel ‘celebrating’ their anniversary day and including a huge Pali propaganda photo. Admittedly, I didn’t check inside so maybe it’s covered on page C7 next to the Jumble crossword.
[To be fair, now there is a report on the Red Star‘s online edition.]
I asked a co-worker here (we’re in Toronto) if she had heard about or seen what’s going on there — all she knows about Alberta is a “massive oil spill that is being covered up”.
I’m really very sorry, everyone. Sometimes I really do think you should let us eastern bastards freeze in the dark.
What I find apalling are the very nasty comments left by many on the G&M story about Alberta and how it is payback from Mother Nature for raping our enviroment. Also some black racist freak in NY on Twitter who is glad Slave Lake burned down, because of its name having Slave in its name. What a bunch pathetic folks claim membership in the human race.
“Several hours into this major disaster, and apparently nobody at our billion plus dollar year state broadcaster has noticed. Unbelievable.”
That’s because they haven’t figured out their negative angle on the story yet.
Here’s what’s currently roiling thru CBC reporter brains in Toronto this morning: must.. find.. way.. to .. subtly blame.. fire.. on.. oil industry…. anything… must not … let.. people.. feel… camaraderie .. sympathy… for dumb…hicks… after… hearing… news report
Until then they’re satisfied to report it as mostly a non-event where people are simply “cut off” as opposed to CUT DOWN.
Our friends in SL got out fine. That’s the good news. The bad news is it looks like a good portion of the town is gone, including some major infrastructure. A sad day indeed.
BUT — it is always much easier to rebuild when nobody dies in the fire. To this end we pray.
The video fills one with dread. How terrifying. I hope that everyone gets out. (Apparently, no one’s been injured: thank God.) What a tragedy for this town. My prayers are with the people of Slave Lake and I’ll be keeping my eye out for where to send a cheque.
I’m just listening to the CBC radio news: it’s covering this story now—after the space shuttle.
I’ve only been to Slave Lake once years ago. It is not a place I would want to be in a fire with high winds.
@RFB: Did the G&M delete all comments on the story you referred to, or is there a new story up?
Right now, the only Slave Lake story on G&M here shows 0 comments.
I have family there. Haven’t been able to reach them so I hope they are alright. When I visited them last summer I saw a black bear sitting by the highway watching cars go by on highway 2. It is truly beautiful country and there is a spectacular drive south to Swan Hills.
Those people up there are tough, hopefully everyone is alive, these southeast winds usually die out after 3 days, this wind has been howling for over a week, I wish all the firefighters good luck, and wonder if there was more clearcutting of the forest around Slave if that would have helped create a firegaurd. That area is very heavily forested.
Why not clear cut around all the northern towns?
Allot of those pee-on’s hacking on the Slave Lake oil industry also forget that SL is a huge (Major) timber town first and formost.
Ya think some of your building costs may go up a little in the future? Alberta’s industries and resourses are linked to everyone else somewhere down the line. This affects everyone, not just the “Hicks” – insurance and rebuilding aside.
Thankfully no reports of human deaths. Forsure there will be wildlife and pet losses.
Why not clear cut around all the northern towns?
That, and require metal roofs. In the video to which Kate links, it looks like the roofing tar on those multi-storey structures is what caught on fire. I’m going to guess that wind-borne embers are what set off the roofs.
Looks like a lot of people are going to get brand new free houses.
RFB at 9:03 AM: “Also some black racist freak in NY on Twitter who is glad Slave Lake burned down, because of its name having Slave in its name. What a bunch pathetic folks claim membership in the human race.”
=======================
No kidding. Slave Lake is named after a First Nation tribe called the Slaveys. They are a Dene tribe whose traditional territory extends into the NWT. In fact, they speak a Dene dialect. Nothing what so ever to do with American slavery.
But, being a qualified member of one of the approved permanently aggrieved groups, he knows he should never let an opportunity to whine pass by.
Lickmuffin>
“That, and require metal roofs”
Your idea sounds good, aside from the fact that it requires more regulation and more forcable government intrusion on people’s lives. Insurance premiums would be a better way as I believe they already are. Your average people living in SL probably couldn’t afford steel roofing, as is apparent with the tar roofing and sidings of allot of homes.
This is not a ready regulation accepting part of the country as with downtown TO. One of the reasons I would rather live in one of those tar paper places in SL than a nice apartment in TO given the choice, any day.
I hope everyone get’s out okay, I have friends who are helicopter firefighters in that area.
Clear cut and tin roof? With 60 MPH winds you would need one heck of a ‘clear cut’/plowed fire guard to keep that kind of fire out of town. A simple clear cut would have a ground fire coming through which would start houses on fire any way. Ask anyone who has witnessed a wind driven prairie fire.
This is not a ready regulation accepting part of the country as with downtown TO
Do we really need to politicize building codes?
I think I’m going to go out and service my fire pump today. Maybe get a longer intake hose.
Any word on where to donate money for fire victims yet?
At around 8:15 or thereabouts this A.M. local Alberta time, Twitter’s having a real job keeping up with the tweets. I can’t get the service to update at all.
How about asbestos siding too? I had to laugh at Lickmuffin’s suggestion, If it were implemented for all the north I don’t know what I’d buy stock in; Steel roofing or Joe’s clearcutting services.
I fly waterbombers for a living and when there are 60 knot winds pushing a fire, ma nature gets her way and there is no stopping her, metal roofing, or not.
I hope everyone can and does get out unharmed.
The Red Cross doesn’t have a specific donation link for Slave Lake yet but that will probably change soon. They are usually quick at responding to disasters.