A decade after ‘The Beast’: Fort McMurray marks 10 years after devastating wildfire

Sunday marks 10 years since a massive wildfire forced the evacuation of Fort McMurray, destroying hundreds of homes and forever changing how Canadian’s deal with disaster.

The fire started two days before the evacuation. The community was on alert, but no one expected the evacuation to hit so fast. Shifting winds pushed the blaze towards Fort McMurray, fueled by dry spring conditions. The inferno jumped fireguards, the river, and the highway, forcing more than 80,000 residents to leave in one day – the largest evacuation in Canadian history.

Bumper-to-bumper traffic travelled south on Highway 63, the only highway connecting the northern city. Eventually, tired evacuees found communities opening their doors and evacuation centres sprang up overnight.

Stories of heroism and neighbours helping neighbours began to take light. Those who picked up evacuees, stranded when they ran out of gas during the terrifying escape, or the teacher who had to load students onto a bus and flee north, separating them from their parents due to the fire.

It took days for Fort McMurray residents to get a real view of the destruction. Approximately 15 per cent of the town burned. But by then, the slogan #FORTMACSTRONG was spreading with vows to rebuild the community, even if it would take months to return, with Canadians looking for ways to help with the largest fundraising effort in the Canadian Red Cross’s history.

RCMP officer Irv Heide had just been transferred out of Fort McMurray the year before the fire. He knew he needed to do something and became one of the first to volunteer to help disaster recovery efforts with Rubicon, a veteran-led charity that helps homeowners sift through the rubble to find sentimental items.

“I’m driving into this community where I once served, and so much is gone,” recalled Heide.

“You’d witness their emotions, and a few standouts were a partially burnt cookbook. And the homeowner says, ‘You know, oh my gosh, my grandmother wrote that cookbook,’ and it somewhat survived.”

The Fort McMurray wildfire is still the most costly insurance disaster in Canadian history, with insured damages reaching $4 billion. While it has forced many home builders and community leaders to increase fire prevention, insurance lenders are calling for more to be done in areas considered high risk to fires.

After the flames were extinguished, Fort McMurray took on a massive forest management change which was tested in 2024 when a fire burned over some of the same land from the 2016 fire, threatening rebuilt homes. None were lost during that evacuation.

Fort McMurray fundamentally changed how officials at Alberta Wildfire strategize in their fight against the flames, including when the first season starts. Noticing a tendency towards hotter and drier springs, the province of Alberta hires and trains crews earlier in the year to be ready if a big spring fire hits.

“It has helped a lot, just to increase understanding,” says Christie Tucker, who is part of the team that updates Albertans on major wildfires.

“Fighting wildfires is what we do every day, but I think the Horse River Fire in 2016 is something that really stays with people.”

Increased communications with the public and communities dealing with fires were part of the recommendations to the provincial government, with both the province and local governments working together for mass evacuations.

Tucker also believes people now know more about wildfires after Fort McMurray.

“Maybe it will change the way people feel when they go camping, maybe they’ll have another look at their campfire, but also it means that there’s been a renewed interest in programs like FireSmart and people learning what can I do to protect my home? What can I do to protect my community?”

Ten years after the fire, a blanket of snow in Fort McMurray provides some comfort for those worried about spring fires, instead, leaving the region to worry about floods this year.

Peter Silverstone, a psychiatry professor at the University of Alberta, says some of those who went through the evacuation still suffer from the traumatic effects today. He tracked the mental health of high school students following the fire, finding 15 to 20 per cent were dealing with severe PTSD years after the fire, adding that those same symptoms of depression or anxiety could creep back, either through reminiscing during an anniversary or hearing news of other big fires.

“These types of events impact many, many people, and those impacts last for many, many years,” he explains.

“Resiliency is really important, community resiliency is really important, and having people around you who are supportive and understanding helps everybody in difficult, traumatic situations, no matter what those are. Sadly, I expect us to see lots more environmental problems in the years going forward.”

That Fort McMurray strong sentiment does continue. Just last month, during a massive snowstorm when residents were stuck on Highway 63, every day residents found ways to help one another by bringing gas or offering rides, just like they did during the fire.

The province has put aside funding to build a highway west of the community, meaning one day, if there is another evacuation, there would be more than one way out.

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, which includes Fort McMurray, says they are seeing more signs of hope 10 years later. There was a population decline after the fire as some decided not to return. But the latest numbers show the first population increase in a decade in 2025.