On May 1, 2016, a wildfire began southwest of Ft. McMurray, Alberta, Canada. In the days that followed, the fire swept through the community, destroying more than 2,400 homes and buildings and forcing residents to flee in the biggest wildfire evacuation in Albertan history, spanning more than 1.4 million acres. The fire spread across northern Alberta and into Saskatchewan, impacting forested areas and oil sands operations alike, becoming the costliest disaster in Canadian history.
Thanks to the generous support of Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, and United Airlines, 35 Team Rubicon volunteers were deployed from across the US, Canada, and Australia to begin recovery. TR USA and TR Canada have just wrapped up their work together to provide incident, volunteer, and debris management to support residents as they return home. Together, they filled 857 work orders, logged +8,900 volunteer hours, and saved the town of Ft. McMurray $253,000.