Despite the devastating wildfires that threatened Fort McMurray and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of Albertans, the city remains largely standing thanks to the efforts of fire crews, said a local officer.
“The firefighters absolutely saved that town,” the Sundre RCMP detachment's Const. Barry Kelly, who spent almost a week helping up north, told the Round Up on Thursday, May 19.
“Most of the town that we canvassed did not have fire damage,” he said.
“We did see some areas that were destroyed by fire,” he added.
But there were many areas where the fire had come close to homes that remained largely untouched by the flames, which was a clear sign firefighters had been able to defend those structures. Firefighters anticipated where the inferno would hit the city and were ready for it, he said.
“Firefighters in Fort McMurray made a stand.”
A few neighbourhoods were destroyed — official estimates were at about 1,600 buildings lost, or roughly 10 per cent of the city — leaving the vast majority of Fort McMurray unscathed. By and large, fire crews, who were initially working shifts as long as 36 hours, did a tremendous job, he said.
“I don't know what would have been left of it (Fort McMurray) if not for them.”
The officer travelled to Fort McMurray with a member of the Olds detachment on Thursday, May 5 and got to work the following day.
“We drove ourselves up so we could have (additional) police vehicles,” he said.
Although Fort McMurray has the largest RCMP detachment in the province, he said every available police resource was welcome under the extenuating circumstances in handling what is being called one of the largest natural disasters in Canadian history.
Tasked with the RCMP's special tactical operations unit, Kelly said his duties mainly involved search and rescue, which in this case mostly meant checking buildings door to door for anyone who had stayed or been left behind.
“We'd basically canvass neighbourhoods,” he said, adding they also took some basic notes on structures that had sustained fire damage. But their priority was to search for people.
“We did find one fellow, from the Philippines, who had just come a few days before the fire to visit his daughter,” he said, adding this individual had no phone and no way out of town.
But he answered the door when police knocked, and was grateful for the offer to be taken to the evacuation site. The officers granted him about half an hour to gather a few belongings as they continued to canvass the rest of that neighbourhood before coming back for him, said Kelly.
The man was later able to catch a bus to Edmonton, where the officer anticipates he was able to reunite with his daughter.
“It must have been pretty harrowing for him, especially considering the smoke,” he said.
On top of searching for people, Kelly said he also went on patrols to ensure anyone encountered was cleared to be there.
His days lasted anywhere from 15 to 19 hours, and involved no shortage of walking around, which by the end of the shift left his knees and legs feeling a bit stiff, he said.
“It was exhausting.”
During just one of his roughly five days in the region, Kelly said he was relocated to three oilfield work camps, which he had never seen before and described as “huge”, “amazing facilities”. If there wasn't a direct threat of fire, the billowing smoke was simply too thick to safely drive, he said.
Meanwhile, the sky above — when visible — was abuzz with aircraft including water bombers and helicopters. There were also a number of bulldozers used to cut swathes and create firebreaks to prevent the flames from advancing further into the city. Emergency responders weren't the only ones working hard — utility repair crews were also actively restoring services that had been damaged, he said.
Even the SPCA had crews going around in convoys with a locksmith and a peace officer to rescue pets.
“The SPCA had quite a centre up there — they did quite a good job,” he said.
Police would notify them if any animals were spotted in homes, but when pets were found outdoors, the officers would give them water and feed them whatever they had on hand, such as deli meats, he said.
“They seemed to be fine — they were excited to see us,” he said about some dogs that ended up following them.
Some homes were even equipped with a security system that contacts the homeowner when the bell is rung.
“I talked to a few people through their doorbell security systems,” he said, adding those individuals were really grateful to get an update on the condition of their homes.
Contributing to the relief effort in Fort McMurray “felt awesome,” the officer said.
“It was part of the adventure of joining the RCMP — you get to get involved in such things, you get to be part of something bigger.”
The overwhelming response from Canadians in the face of the disaster has been a large contrast to the devastation — the catastrophe really brought out the best in many people, he said.
No one has been reported missing, and although two lives were tragically lost in a motor vehicle collision during the initial evacuation, nobody was killed as a direct result of the wildfires, which Kelly called “remarkable.”
The collaborative efforts of all the responders was great to see, said Kelly, adding he spotted fire trucks from all over Alberta, including departments from Mountain View County.
“I was proud to be a part of that effort.”
The “icing on the cake” for Kelly was finding the man from the Philippines and being able to help him reach safety.
“At the end of the day, that's what we went up there for. That was a very positive experience.”
Kelly's last day in Fort McMurray was on Tuesday, May 10, and he spent the following day travelling home.
“It was nice to see my wife and kids again,” he said, adding it also felt great to wash the smell of smoke out of his clothes.
