Fort McMurray Minute: Sharing Expertise, Supportive Messages, and Heritage Day Schedules

Fort McMurray Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Fort McMurray politics

This Week In Fort McMurray:

• Council is on summer vacation, so there is just a single meeting at City Hall. The Wood Buffalo Development Advisory Committee will meet on Wednesday at 9:30 am for a discussion about Working Groups.
  
  
• The fire ban is now lifted, allowing for backyard fire pits and backcountry campfires. The Municipality shared a video on fire safety tips, as well as the latest rules for outdoor fires.
  
  
• It’s Heritage Day! Several City services and facilities are operating on modified schedules today. The regional landfill in Fort McMurray and municipal offices, including the cashiers and permitting office at the Jubilee building, will be closed. RMWB Transit routes 11, 12, 15, 16, and 99 will run according to the statutory holiday schedule, with rural transit operating normally. Hope you’re having a wonderful long weekend!

Last Week In Fort McMurray:

• Heavy rains, cool weather, and efforts from firefighters have significantly improved the wildfire situation in the region. Many major wildfires are now classified as held, under control, or extinguished. The wildfire that caused evacuations in the Chipewyan Prairie First Nation is now held, allowing residents to return. Progress was also made on the Kettle River and Algar Lake Complexes, with numerous wildfires extinguished or under control. International firefighters are also arriving to assist.
  
  
• Mayor Sandy Bowman has offered to assist Jasper's leadership by sharing insights from Fort McMurray’s recovery after the 2016 Horse River Wildfire. Bowman said that Fort McMurray benefited greatly from advice given by the Community of Slave Lake during its wildfire recovery, and he sees providing similar support to Jasper as the least the Municipality can do. He has had a conversation with Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland to offer this assistance.
  
  
• Speaking of providing aid to Jasper, the Municipality announced an initiative aimed at lifting the spirits of those impacted by the recent wildfires. Fort McMurray is collecting messages of support for Jasper residents. Individuals can submit short video messages or handmade drawings to be shared on social media and directly with Jasper residents. Video messages (due today!) should be 5-10 seconds long in landscape orientation. Handmade drawings, due by August 11th, will be used for a fence banner in Jasper's rebuild areas. The Municipality is providing the paper, so that it’s all uniform for the fencing. All the details are available online.