The tourism website for Fort McMurry displays green fields, trees blooming in the warm spring weather, and smiling adventurers hiking through the Birchwood Trails. What this website does not display is the path of destruction caused by a force not unlike General William Sherman in his march to the Georgia coast.

To this day, authorities don’t know exactly how the Fort McMurry wildfire started. It could be another Mrs. O’Leary’s cow situation, but they are speculating that it could have started by a simple cigarette butt or smoldering campfire, as Fort McMurry is surrounded by both a large campground and oil sands.

The campgrounds of Fort McMurry are located in northeastern Alberta, which sits in the middle of the Athabasca oil sands, a large part of Canada’s profitable oil output. Since Sunday, May 1st, the fire and mass evacuations have forced nearly one third of Canada’s oil output offline due to loss of electricity.

The Athabasca oil sands are one of the largest oil reserves in the world, behind only Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. These sands produce bitumen, a thick and heavy form of oil that lies beneath the surface of the ground. According to a 2003 estimate, Alberta has the potential to produce 174.5 billion barrels of oil due to the 55,000 square miles of bitumen in the Athabasca oil sands.

A state of emergency was declared on Monday, May 2, the day after the fire started. On Tuesday, the fire moved east towards the Saskatchewan border, which forced a fire ban in Saskatchewan that will remain in effect until heavy rainfall. In Alberta, there is a province-wide ban on open fires, including campfires and grills, due to the fear of another fire starting in the dry weather.

As of Monday, May 16, it is estimated that over 2,400 structures have been destroyed. Most are homes, but nearly 25,000 structures were saved by local firefighters, including all of the schools. Rescue workers and firefighters on the scene stated 85 – 90 percent of Fort McMurray remains undamaged. However, over 2,000 square miles of land have been burned, which is nearly 1,000 square miles greater than the size of Rhode Island.

Of the over 90,000 people evacuated, there have been only two deaths directly related to the fire. Those deaths are a result of car accidents of people fleeing the fire.

Although the assistance of Canadian Armed Forces is no longer needed, the Municipal Affairs Minister Danielle Larivee said in an interview with local Canadian press it will be a while before residents are able to go home out of fear that due to the broad area of the forest, it is possible the fire will persist for months.

The favorable weather conditions in the week following the fire have definitely helped to slow its growth and the spread. However, hotspots are still present to the east and north near the Saskatchewan border where lack of rain perpetuates the extreme dry conditions.

In fact, it is these dry conditions that are raising concerns about the timeline of voluntary re-entry for citizens. Alberta Province set standards which, once met, would allow for voluntary re-entry to certain towns and neighborhoods affected by the fire. One of these conditions is that the remaining fire(s) could not be an imminent threat to the city, clean water supply, and/or air quality.

Originally, the scheduled date for re-entry was June 1; however local and volunteer firefighters are still struggling with smaller isolated fires that could, should the wind be blowing in the right direction, potentially start another large fire. Rescue workers on scene also warn that should citizens return, they should bring a respirator or a mask due to the amount of ash and chemicals remaining in the air.

Although recently the air quality had been bouncing in between a two and three on a scale of one to ten, on May 16 it was ranked a 38.

On May 10th, the smoke from the fire traveled its way across New England, affecting the northern Great Lake states and parts of Southern New England. One news station stated New England was covered in a milky fog. Of course, due to strong eastern winds, the smoke had moved on.

Additionally, there are some ecological concerns related to the fire. On May 25, the smoke from the wildfire had stretched across the Atlantic to Spain and could potentially put parts of Greenland’s ice at risk of increased melting. On an average day, when the sun is shining on the snow, it’s color allows it to reflect the light and heat back up into space. However, with the presence of ash from the fire, the darker snow will absorb heat rather than reflect it, causing it to melt prematurely.

But in the wake of a disaster, there are many stories of hope. Refugees who were granted asylum in Canada have started a fund for those who fled the Fort McMurry wildfire, the Canadian Red Cross is accepting donations to help rebuild neighborhoods, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised to match the monetary value of individual donations to the Canadian Red Cross. Some women have also established a prom clothing collection to help those who are fleeing the fire during prom season.

But tomorrow marks a new dawn, a new day, and Canada will rebuild.

Fast Facts box:

• To donate to the Canadain Red Cross: http://www.redcross.ca
• To donate to the The Edmonton Emergency Relief Services Society: http://www.eerss.org
• Edmonton Food Bank: http://www.edmontonsfoodbank.com/the-feed/archives/2016/05/04/update-from-edmontons-food-bank-fort-mcmurray-evacuee-support/