Following a wildfire that burnt close to some houses over the previous few days, some Fort McMurray residents have been on edge.
Billy Martin, a resident of Fort McMurray, stated that it was 100 feet from the McKinlay Crescent row of homes.
Dave Scantland of Fort McMurray remarked, “You can see it from your house and that’s just too near for comfort.”
Scantland lives on the north side of Fort McMurray where fire crews and helicopters have been battling a blaze that broke out Tuesday.
Anyone with property nearby should be concerned because it’s possible to see flames, according to Scantland.
According to Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo Fire Chief Jody Butz who posted a video online Thursday, he said this is one of five human caused fires this week that started in the region.
“The conditions that we are experiencing are extremely dry at the moment and the foliage has fallen from the trees creating above average wildfire risk in our region,” regional municipality of Wood Buffalo fire chief Jody Butz said.
Martin noticed the flames as he was at work nearby.
“The winds picked up about two in the afternoon and it got pretty scary for a little bit, especially for the people on Walnut Crescent, McKinlay Crescent Morgan Heights area that is the same row of house that got burned in the 2016 fire,” Martin said.
Martin and Scantland concurred that the sight of a fire burning so near to residences brings up harrowing memories of the 2016 wildfire that scorched much of the area.
When we hear a chopper while performing our usual responsibilities, a lot of us suffer PTSD, according to Scantland.
Martin remarked, “I know of a handful people that packed things and evacuated as a precaution.”
Even though firefighters were able to put out the fire as of Saturday, the cooler weather has caused heavy smoke.
Martin reported that the smog became so bad that certain highways were really closed because there was no visibility.
Martin noted that although the situation is not ideal, it is thankfully not nearly as bad as 2016.
Many locals are still on high alert due to a terrifying fire.
Scantland stated that in order to assess the threat, “we must look with our own eyes.”
Some residents of Fort McMurray are alarmed by a fire that is “too close for comfort.”
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