Fort McMurray attempts to thank 1M Canadians for wildfire efforts
Fire known as 'The Beast' forced almost 90,000 people from their homes in May
This weekend Canadians all over will meditate on what they're thankful for, and perhaps nowhere in the Great White North will the thanks expressed be more heartfelt than in Fort McMurray.
To show their gratitude, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo have produced a video and campaign in an attempt to "thank a million Canadians."
The video, launched Friday on the RMWB's Facebook page, is intended to thank Canadians across the country for the help and generosity provided to the northern Alberta community in its time of need.
After the fire known as "The Beast" forced almost 90,000 people from their homes in May, Canadians of all sorts pulled together for the town.
The fire ravaged the area, destroying 2,400 buildings in the municipality and surrounding area. The total cost of the disaster is still unknown but it has been estimated at $3.6 billion dollars in damage.
'The support that we've seen from Alberta, Canada, it makes me so proud to be an Albertan and to be from a country where we care about each other so much.'- Candace Sturgess
In the largest Red Cross relief campaign in history Canadians raised nearly $300 million to help the victims of the most costly disaster in Canadian history.
"The support that we've seen from Alberta, Canada, it makes me so proud to be an Albertan and to be from a country where we care about each other so much," said Candace Sturgess, a volunteer who worked tirelessly to help evacuees, in the video.
To respond the municipality produced a video, the message posted with it says that Thanksgiving is a time for reflection on "we are thankful for, and this weekend we are thankful for the support of Canadians."
"Your thoughts, prayers, donations, volunteer hours, hand-made gifts, shipments of supplies and kind words are a constant reminder of the care the residents of Wood Buffalo received in their time of need," it reads.
It goes on to ask residents of Wood Buffalo to share the video and personally thank another Canadian for their efforts.
According to Facebook's statistics, it has been viewed almost 80,000 times.
The five speakers in the video each attest to the overwhelming response that came in all forms provided to the town by Canadians from coast to coast.
"British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, they reached out with financial support, they wanted to know 'how can we help you be ready for the children,'" said Nancy Ball, a teacher in Fort McMurray.
The video ends with Mayor of RMWB Melissa Blake giving a heartfelt thank you to the country.
"To the people of Canada, to the people of the province of Alberta, to the friends of ours just down the road in Wood Buffalo, every one of you that put in the effort that you did, you need to know how incredibly grateful we all are."