Fort McMurray's first census since the devastating 2016 wildfire suggests the region's population dropped by nearly 11 per cent between 2015 and 2018. Find Fort McMurray breaking news, latest stories, recent happenings, events and updates in Fort McMurray, Alberta. So far, only about 37 per cent of the destroyed homes have been rebuilt. Coverage includes local, Alberta, Canada & World news, updates from Alberta sport teams, business & entertainment world. By May 18, the fire had grown to 423,000 hectares (1,050,000 acres) and expanded into Saskatchewan. One year ago this week, a raging wildfire burned through nearly 1.5 million acres of forest surrounding the city of Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada. Population of Wood Buffalo region including 38,264 people living in oilsands project accommodations. Fort McMurray was granted the status of new town so it could get more provincial funding. By Joseph Hall News reporter. The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo says the census conducted last year found an overall population of 111,687 — down nearly 11 per cent from 2015. Alan Shapiro - 31 October 2016 Fort McMurray and Waterways amalgamated as the village of McMurray (the "Fort" was dropped until 1962, when it was restored to reflect its heritage) by 1947, and became a town a year later. After the 2003 blackout in Ontario and the northeastern United States, StatCan developed the Disaster Catastrophe Effects module for the Labour Force Survey. Every resident has a personal story of where they were and what happened to them on that day. For the Fort McMurray fire, StatCan was quick to implement the module, as it had in the past. Fort McMurray evacuates patients in 'Surreal' flight Member Hero Story: Culligan to the rescue! Sun., April 30, 2017 timer 8 min. Future focus: Life after the Fort McMurray fire. While the fire moved away from Fort McMurray, two explosions and poor air quality continued to prevent residents and rebuilding crews from returning to the town. Exclusive coverage, photo galleries, videos and much more from Fort McMurray Today. After Agyapong first went to Fort McMurray in November, he found PTSD in adults had increased from 0.4 percent to 12.8 percent of the population after the fire. Between now and June 30, Efu and his team are trying to determine that number as they conduct the Fort McMurray region's first official population count since the wildfire. It’s been two years since wildfires in Fort McMurray, Alta., destroyed more than 2,500 homes in the area and officials say roughly 80 per cent of those houses are still not fully restored. The province was calling in more reinforcements to Fort McMurray, including 100 more firefighters and a giant helicopter that can dump more than 2,000 liters (500 gallons) of water at a time. Wood Buffalo Mayor Melissa Blake says she's not expecting last May's wildfire to have much of an impact on the Fort McMurray area's long-term population. Today, the recovery is moving slowly. read. In 2016, all 80,000 residents of Fort McMurray were evacuated from the city-the largest such operation in Alberta's history. Keith Muise, in his Fort McMurray Fort McMurray home on Saturday April 8, 2017, was initially uncertain if he would return to live in the city after the wildfire. Population of Fort McMurray in 2015. FORT MCMURRAY- A new census has found a significant drop in Fort McMurray’s population following the devastating wildfire in May 2016. FORT McMURRAY— The story of Fort McMurray a year after the wildfire is really — to steal a title from Charles Dickens — a tale of two cities.