Canadian media leaves out the truth about the Alberta wildfires

In view of the government and media denial about the real nature of the Fort McMurray fires I was wonderign what the Canadian media is saying right now.

Given what's left out of the picture there seems to be more lies than truth right now.

Fort McMurray wildfire: 

Trudeau, Canadian Media Mum as Threat From Climate Change Induced Wildfires Grows

Alberta oilfield workers head back to camps

http://globalnews.ca/news/2703476/fort-mcmurray-wildifre-its-just-unthinkable-oilfield-workers-head-back-to-camps/

16 May, 2016

UPDATE: At 4:30 p.m. MT Monday, a mandatory evacuation order was issued for all work camps north of Fort McMurray, up to and including Ruth Lake Camp. Workers were told to head south on Highway 63.

Flights began leaving the airport for Fort McMurray at about 7 a.m.

The workers are heading to camps north of Fort McMurray. Some of them were evacuated when the sites were threatened by wildfires, others left to make room for evacuated residents.

Last week, Premier Rachel Notley said bringing workers back to sites is a separate process from re-entering Fort McMurray.

“It’s important for folks in Fort McMurray to understand that, because, of course, the city of Fort McMurray sustained quite a bit of damage and we need to reaccess all those critical infrastructure pieces, as opposed to most of the camps north of the city that were not impacted at all,” Notley said.

Workers said they’re excited to head back, but admitted the flight over Fort McMurray would be emotional.

“When driving out, we went through. When I went out Tuesday morning, you didn’t see a lot from the road, but it was scorched on all sides and there was still some flames going up on Beacon Hill and what not,” Deb Farstad said.

“Just to go back and kind of go over and see, especially what you couldn’t see entirely right, like the mass of it is, you know, it’s just unthinkable.”

Flights from EIA to Fort McMurray will be happening for a few days.

The airport recommends workers arrive two hours before their flight to give themselves time to get processed.

Fort McMurray residents will receive a phone call at 7 p.m. Monday with an invitation to take part in a telephone town hall, where they’ll learn the latest information, including when they’ll be allowed to return to the city, and have a chance to ask questions.

Watch video HERE

Air quality in Fort McMurray area rated an 'extreme' health risk, could delay recovery work

 

While crews work to bring electricity and gas services back online in Fort McMurray, air quality in the area is off the charts – and officials said that could hamper work to eventually bring evacuated residents back.

In a news conference held Monday, Premier Rachel Notley said the province’s Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) for parts of northern Alberta, including Fort McMurray, was extreme – although air quality is measured on a scale of 1 to 10, the rating in Fort McMurray had been determined to be 38 as of 10 a.m. Monday.

As a result, AHS has recommended members of the public who had applied to go back, should not return until conditions improve – and that workers in the area had been advised of the problem, while re-entry of additional personnel had been delayed, as had ongoing vehicle retrieval efforts.

The premier said the air quality could delay work that would lead officials to bring evacuated residents back.

One major factor in returning evacuees to Fort McMurray is having the hospital operational – the province said about 400 staff are on site working to clean up the hospital.

Meanwhile, a temporary medical facility has been set up in Fort McMurray for first responders to use.

Officials updated the status of two of the three wildfires, the wildfire burning in the Fort McMurray area was about 285,000 hectares, and the blaze had come within 10 to 12 kilometres of the Saskatchewan border.

Meanwhile, in northwestern Alberta, the fire in Greenview County was about 800 hectares in size.

However, crews were dealing with hot weather and low humidity, which were expected to allow the fires to grow.

“Fire conditions are really as bad now as they were on the first day of the fire, and we expect a lot of fire activity today,” Rachel Notley said.

Notley said she hoped the “Alberta tradition” of a cold and wet May long weekend would help crews get an upper hand on the fire.