Fort McMurray 10 Years After 2016 Wildfire

FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. Ten years after the Horse River wildfire, known as "The Beast," swept into Fort McMurray on May 3, 2016, forcing the evacuation of 90,000 residents from the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo and destroying or damaging 2,500 homes, the northern Alberta oil hub still carries visible and emotional scars from Canada's costliest natural disaster.

The blaze, fueled by hot, dry conditions, scorched nearly 5,900 square kilometres of boreal forest after jumping Highway 63, the city's only exit route. Evacuees endured harrowing drives through walls of flames, with smoke filling cars and trees igniting alongside the road. Two people died in a traffic crash during the exodus, and residents remained displaced for about a month. "You're seeing ash, smoke and flames everywhere," recalled Rob Rice, 47, owner of a local Home Hardware store. "Your life is on the line. You're trapped in a traffic jam, smoke's coming in your car, you can't breathe. It was dark, it was gloomy, and it was very scary."

Signs of the fire persist in blackened tree stumps along roads and empty lots beside rebuilt homes, though regrowth has restored much of the green canopy. The Regional...