FORT McMURRAY, Alberta (AP) — Canada’s Prime Minister arrived in wildfire-ravaged Fort McMurray on Friday and after taking a helicopter tour to assess the damage said he doesn’t think most Canadians comprehend yet the scope of what happened in the oil sands capital, where more than 88,000 people were forced to evacuate.
Justin Trudeau arrived in the northern Alberta city almost two weeks after a massive wildfire tore through the isolated region, causing several oil sands operations to shut down.
Alberta officials say they will have a plan within two weeks for getting residents back into their homes.
Trudeau said that despite following updates and watching images on TV, the scale of the disaster didn’t hit him until he visited the area.
“I don’t think Canadians yet understand what happened. They know there was a fire. They’re beginning to hear the wonderful news that so much of the town was saved,” he told 150 firefighters and first responders after his tour of Fort McMurray by military helicopter.
“But they don’t yet understand that that wasn’t a fluke of wind or rain or luck that happened. This was the extraordinary response by people such as yourself. The work you did to save so much of this community, to save so much of this city and its downtown core … was unbelievable.”
Trudeau toured one of the city’s damaged neighborhoods after his visit with first responders and volunteers before meeting with Alberta Premier Rachel Notley.
Alberta officials say 2,432 structures have been destroyed, 530 damaged and 25,000 saved. Despite the savage fire, officials said 85 to 90 percent of the city has been saved.
In the forest surrounding the Fort McMurray airport, where Trudeau landed, trees looked like little more than used match sticks, charred right up to the tarmac, and the ground was blackened.
“When I got a chance to fly over the community, the first thing you notice is the smoke, the haze, the smell in the air. Even from the airport, which was untouched, you can tell the scale and the scope of what just happened. And then you notice the blackened forest that surrounds Fort McMurray… entire swaths of burned out trees and hillsides,” Trudeau said at an evening news conference.
He told of the moment when he saw a small plastic child’s scooter on the sidewalk as he toured the city.
“The one thing I realized, unlike so many images we’ve seen, that little plastic scooter, whatever little boy or girl was using that just before the evacuation, they’re safe. They’re alive,” he said. “They’re being sheltered by friends or family or kind strangers.
“Yes, this was a terrible disaster to befall this community but there is strength here and a will to build a stronger future,” Trudeau added.
Fort McMurray Fire Chief Darby Allen, who led the fight against the fire, said having the prime minister visit is a morale boost.
“Right now the residents aren’t there, but there are hundreds and hundreds of emergency workers. I think they’ll get a lift from that,” he said.
The fire is now 930 square miles in size and has moved away from the city. It’s expected to burn in forested areas for at least a few more weeks.
