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Following the evacuation from Fort McMurray in 2016, Sithara Fernando experienced post-traumatic stress (PTSD) and a major depression. One year after the wildfire, she shares her story to help other people who are still recovering. She is thankful for the support of the Red Cross in providing mental health resources in the community. 

Nearly one year later, how your donations have helped people recover and rebuild following the devastating wildfires in Alberta. 

It is a story taken right out of the pages of an adventure novel: a harrowing escape from a wildfire that was quickly encroaching on the city. This is how Peter Fortna and Jay Telegdi describe their evacuation from the Fort McMurray wildfires a year ago, which inspired the two friends to start a fundraiser for those evacuated from their homes in Aleppo, Syria.

The signs of hope, strength and recovery are everywhere now when I visit Fort McMurray and the surrounding region in northern Alberta. It’s been slightly more than nine months since wildfires wiped out so much for so many there, and when I talk with people in Wood Buffalo, I still hear their struggles. But increasingly, I also hear more optimism.

The unthinkable happened one day for Sheila Champion and her family. The rest of the country watched in disbelief through various news mediums, as wildfires threatened the city of Fort McMurray. The Champion family, along with approximately 88,000 other residents, were forced from their home, facing the uncertainty of not knowing if they would ever be able to return. 
 

The wildfires that ravaged many areas of the northern Alberta community last May were an extremely stressful experience for many people. In the first weeks after the evacuation, besides responding to the basic needs of Fort McMurray evacuees, the Red Cross also deployed a Safety and Well Being Team with expertise in Psychological First Aid.
 

The Canadian Red Cross receives many calls for assistance, but this call, from one of the evacuees from the Alberta Fires in May, was a bit different.
Kim Matchem contacted the Red Cross for a teddy bear. Kim was eight months pregnant with her daughter Tenley when she was evacuated from Fort McMurray. 

In the spring of 2016, Leonie Bree says she was happily in the process of starting her own business, and she and her husband had recently bought a home in the neighbourhood of Abasand. Her daughters, Vanessa and Katrena, who were starting their own families, had also just bought homes in Beacon Hill and Waterways. However, that all changed after wildfires swept through the city in May, forcing the family to evacuate. Unfortunately, all three homes were lost to the flames.