Every guardian angel in Alberta drinks for free in this bar.

[commodorified]

Officials expect a cold front to move through the area later Wednesday, which could be good news, in one sense, because it will likely raise the humidity. But it could also bring bad news in the form of storm clouds and lightning strikes.

"We are preparing for a very bad day," Allen said.

Then, his voice breaking with emotion, the fire boss who called Tuesday the "worst day" of his career, tried to sum up his feelings.

Tens of thousands have fled the city

"We successfully evacuated 88,000 people," he said. "No one is hurt and no one has passed away. I really hope that we can get to the end of this day and we can still say that."

I hope so too, sir. I hope so too.

Comments

[muccamukk]

Hell of a few days for those guys. I hope they're do okay in the coming week.

What a mess.

[recessional]

I cannot believe we're still at "no major injuries". That IS a fucking miracle, given HOW FAST that fire turned on everyone.

[staranise]

They got an ENTIRE CITY out on a 10-minute evacuation order.

With only one working highway.

[tree_and_leaf]

That is a hell of a thing. The fire is awful, but I'm so impressed with all involved in the evacuation.

[recessional]

And as of right now nobody's even been reported missing. Like holy fuck.

[ckd]

That's Berlin Airlift levels of logistical excellence. Seriously, some operations management folks must have been working insane shifts behind the scenes to make this happen, in addition to all the ones out on the front lines (RCMP, fire services, etc).

[nenya_kanadka]

Seriously impressive. Holy shit.

[princessofgeeks]

This is awful! So sorry!

[mmegaera]

I was watching the coverage last night. What a horrific nightmare, and I hope the death/injury toll stays as low as it was when you posted this.

[amorettea]

I had a 'discussion' with a twit on a blog site about global warming. He finally caved in. I live in Montana. We KNOW that having a massive fire like this in the first week of May is NOT normal. I couldn't believe that everyone got out. Fingers crossed the cold weather we are expecting Friday does its job.

[sara]

We have really not considered what happens to the world when the north burns. Which it is. 😕

[amadi]

This whole thing is amazing. The ability of the emergency management people to evacuate on that level and at that speed is something that needs to be studied for replication all over the place, because it's phenomenal.

[commodorified]

The truly excellent behaviour of the evacuees is also a factor, but there's a connection: so long as resources and information are available, the more you trust people to know what they need to do and do it the better evacuations and disaster situatiins in general seem to go.