Soaked Walls and Muddy Basements: Fort McMurray Residents Survey Their Flooded Homes

Photo shows the donated food in Fort McMurray after the flood. The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo lifted a mandatory evacuation order for five parts of the city late Friday, May 1, 2020, citing receding water levels. An ice jam earlier this week on the Athabasca River led to the flooding of the city’s downtown, forcing close to 13,000 people out of their homes. The Canadian Press

FORT MCMURRAY, Alta.—When Norm Sutton was allowed to return to his home in Fort McMurray, he could see that his wife’s car had been totally submerged and floodwater had completely filled his finished basement, soaking everything right up to the ceiling.

The water is gone now, but it’s left a deep layer of mud in the basement and has soaked the drywall. The family issued a plea on social media for volunteers to come on Sunday to form a chain to pass debris up the stairs to a dumpster, but they warned the work will be wet and that anyone who comes to help should bring rubber boots.