The Horse River wildfire began on May 1, 2016, seven kilometres outside of Fort McMurray, Alberta. Two days later, it entered Fort McMurray, destroying approximately 2,400 homes and displacing an additional 2,000 residents in three communities within the Wood Buffalo region. Before it was controlled, the fire spread across northern Alberta into Saskatchewan, threatening First Nations communities, impacting Athabasca oil sands operations through lost oil production of approximately 47 million barrels—costing $1.4 billion in lost revenue—and consuming extensive forests and destroying critical infrastructure. The Insurance Bureau of Canada estimated insured losses at $3.9 billion, making it the costliest disaster in Canadian history and also one of the worst fire disasters internationally.
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