Oilsands Banquet 2016 will celebrate the heroes of the Fort McMurray wildfire
It was known as the Beast, and it sent nearly 90,000 people fleeing with little more than the clothes on their back.
But an army of heroes stood up to the Beast last spring—with blood, sweat, and remarkable resourcefulness—and ultimately saved the city of Fort McMurray, Alberta.
Tonight, the Oilsands Banquet 2016 will honour the heroes of the Fort McMurray wildfire—including firefighters, emergency management officials, and law enforcement—without whom the city almost surely would have been lost.
It’s been estimated that nearly 12,000 people were directly involved in the wildfire emergency effort last May.
“Tens of thousands of Fort McMurray residents were lined up on Highway 63 and 881, as far as the eye could see . . . desperate to escape the flames licking at the roadside. First responders—RCMP officers, police officers and firefighters, the real heroes—stepped up to the plate and leapt into action,” Brian Jean, MLA for Fort McMurray-Conklin and the leader of Alberta’s Wildrose opposition party, said during a recent recognition ceremony in Edmonton.
“It was only through their amazing, heroic efforts and actions that the people of my hometown escaped the flames,” added Jean, who lost his own home to the Beast.
As the rebuild continues, tonight’s Oilsands Banquet—an annual gathering of hundreds of leaders from industry, government, education, First Nations and the community—will include Fort McMurray Regional Fire Chief Darby Allen, Wood Buffalo RCMP Chief of Police Rob McCloy, Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) Mayor Melissa Blake, and keynote speaker Rex Murphy.
Incredible stories of strength and heroism have reverberated around northern Alberta in recent months, including:
- The voices of XMD-81, who guided firefighters and aircraft with wildfire dispatch operations;
- The food banks that have served thousands of meals to evacuees;
- Businesses that opened their doors to shelter evacuated and misplaced pets; and
- Deliveries of water, fuel and food to those fleeing the wildfire.
A newly released commemorative book, Saving Wood Buffalo, contains more than 60 stories of bravery and resilience, and carries the spirit of hope—with $10 from the sale of each book going to the Fort McMurray Firefighters’ Relief Fund. These stories include:
- Suncor Energy’s logistical heroics in moving out 10,000 people in 24 hours;
- Syncrude’s efforts to activate a camp within hours and shelter 1,500 fleeing residents;
- Shell’s activities in evacuating 9,800 people from north of Fort McMurray on about 80 flights; and
- CNRL’s relentless work to fly residents out through its Horizon aerodrome.
Like other energy industry companies in Alberta’s oilsands, Enbridge has been working with the RMWB, the province, and numerous agencies to provide transitional support and services during the rebuild of Fort McMurray.
We’re sponsoring and attending tonight’s Oilsands Banquet 2016, as are many other companies with operations in the Fort McMurray region.
We’re celebrating the extraordinary actions of ordinary people. And we’ll be here every step of the way as Fort McMurray’s monumental recovery continues.
