Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World

The official name of the May 2016 wildfire that decimated Fort McMurray is MWF-009 (McMurray Wildfire 009) since it was the district’s ninth major wildfire that year. Firefighters soon realized that this fire was different. Growing exponentially across thousands of acres, it steadily moved toward town. Mayor Melissa Blake announced a voluntary evacuation at 5:30 pm on May 1 but assured citizens that firefighters were creating firebreaks, or a “dirt moat” around the city, and doing everything possible to contain it, noting that the weather could make the firefight more challenging. High temperatures can create stronger winds, thus spreading fire more rapidly, and the area’s unseasonably warm weather encouraged the fire. By Mayor Blake’s side were Bernie Schmitte (the regional manager of the Wildfire Division of Alberta’s Ministry of Forestry and Agriculture) and Darby Allen (the municipal fire chief). They told the press and the citizens that while the fire was large and spreading quickly, the firefighters would likely keep it from reaching town. They exuded calm and confidence, which may have contributed to people’s lack of concern about the fire until it literally reached their doorsteps.

However, citizens of the nearby small town Slave Lake were more apprehensive.