Media and politicians got the first look at the devastation caused by the wildfire in Fort McMurray today.
Premier Rachel Notley had some good news, telling reporters the city is just under 90 percent intact.
“I’m told we’ve lost about 2400 structures, we’ve saved almost 25,000 including the hospital municipal buildings and every functioning school.”
Notley says the economic impact of the blaze is still to be determined.
It will also still be some time before residents can return to their homes.
“What we know right now is that we have large areas of town that have no power. We have large areas of town that have no water, and large areas with no gas.” Regional Fire Chief Darby Allen said “We have to ensure that critical infrastructure is in place and it’s safe for residents to return before they do so.”
Notley says they expect a timeline for the the return to Fort McMurray will be made available within two weeks.
As for the fire itself, it is now 204,000 hectares but mostly burning to the east away from town and towards the Saskatchewan border.
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