Canadian wildfire draws comparisons with recent local fires
Many residents in the Pikes Peak region are sympathizing with and relating to people coping with a large wildfire in the Canadian province of Alberta.
The fire burning in the town of Fort McMurray, 270 miles north of the capital city of Edmonton, ignited Sunday, has expanded to 210,000 acres and is still spreading.
By comparison, the 2012 Waldo Canyon fire burned 18,247 acres and the 2013 Black Forest Fire covered 14,280 acres.
The 2002 Hayman fire, the largest in Colorado history, burned more than 138,000 acres.
“I heard about the fire in Canada,” said Maria Huber, a resident of Mountain Shadows where the Waldo Canyon fire burned 346 homes. “I know how the Canadians feel. The fire here came behind our house when the wind changed. We just had damage on the outside.”
An estimated 100,000 people have evacuated from the Canadian fire, including all 88,000 residents of Fort McMurray, as the inferno spreads south and forced evacuations as far as 30 miles from town.
The fire has stopped oil production in an area that provides 16 percent of Canada’s supply, and is expected to raise global oil prices.
The fire also threatens Highway 63, the only route south to major cities such as Edmonton and Calgary.
Many evacuees are staying in arenas, hockey rinks and oil work camps that have limited resources.
How the fire started is unclear but hot, dry weather makes it impossible for firefighters to contain.
Temperatures reached the upper 80s Wednesday but apparently did not follow a forecast of 20 degrees cooler Thursday with a chance for rain.
Jim Taylor also can relate to the Canadian disaster. The Black Forest fire destroyed his home but he has since rebuilt.
“Hope is what they have to hold onto,” he said. “They have to remember that material possessions can be replaced but lives can’t. The hardest part is coming back and seeing the damage. But if you’re determined enough, you can recover.”
Local firefighters said they don’t expect to be called to help fight the Canadian fire, and hope people there can learn from the experiences of authorities and victims here.
