Fort McMurray was officially named what between Jul 1964 and Nov 1966?
Fort McMurray Fort McMurray ( ) is an urban service area in the Regional Municipality ( RM ) of Wood Buffalo in Alberta , Canada . It is located in northeast Alberta , in the middle of the Athabasca oil sands , surrounded by boreal forest . It has played a significant role in the development of the national petroleum industry . The 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire led to the evacuation of its residents and caused widespread damage . Formerly a city , Fort McMurray became an urban service area when it amalgamated with Improvement District No . 143 on April 1 , 1995 , to create the Municipality of Wood Buffalo ( renamed the RM of Wood Buffalo on August 14 , 1996 ) . Despite its current official designation of urban service area , many locals , politicians and the media still refer to Fort McMurray as a city . Fort McMurray was known simply as McMurray between 1947 and 1962 . History . Before the arrival of Europeans in the late 18th century , the Cree were the dominant First Nations people in the Fort McMurray area . The Athabasca oil sands were known to the locals and the surface deposits were used to waterproof their canoes . During the fur trade , the location of Fort McMurray , west of Methye Portage , was an important junction on the fur trade route from eastern Canada to the Athabasca Country . In 1778 , the first European explorer , Peter Pond , came to the region in search of furs , as the European demand for this commodity at the time was strong . Pond explored the region farther south along the Athabasca River and the Clearwater River , but chose to set up a trading post much farther north by the Athabasca River near Lake Athabasca . However , his post closed in 1788 in favour of Fort Chipewyan , now the oldest continuous settlement in Alberta . In 1790 , the explorer Alexander MacKenzie made the first recorded description of the oil sands . By that time , trading between the explorers and the Cree was already occurring at the confluence of the Clearwater and Athabasca Rivers . The Hudsons Bay Company and the North West Company were in fierce competition in this region . Fort McMurray was established there as a Hudsons Bay Company post by 1870 , named for the Chief Factor William McMurray . It continued to operate as a transportation stopover in the decades afterwards . The Alberta and Great Waterways Railway arrived in 1915 complementing existing steamboat service . The community has played a significant role in the history of the petroleum industry in Canada . Oil exploration is known to have occurred in the early 20th century , but Fort McMurrays population remained small , no more than a few hundred people . By 1921 , there was serious interest in developing a refining plant to separate the oil from the sands . Alcan Oil Company was the first outfit to begin bulk tests at Fort McMurray . The nearby community of Waterways was established to provide a southern terminus for waterborne transportation when the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway reached there in 1921 . Abasands Oil was the first company to successfully extract oil from the oil sands through hot water extraction by the 1930s , but production was very low . Fort McMurrays processing output gradually grew to over 1,100 barrels/day by World War II , and Fort McMurray was set up by the US and Canadian forces as staging ground for the Canol Project . 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 . Fort McMurray was granted the status of new town so it could get more provincial funding . By 1966 , the towns population was over 2,000 . In 1967 , the Great Canadian Oil Sands ( now Suncor ) plant opened and Fort McMurrays growth soon took off . More oil sands plants were opened , especially after the 1973 oil crisis and the 1979 energy crisis , when serious political tensions and conflicts in the Middle East triggered oil price spikes . The population of the town reached 6,847 by 1971 and climbed to 31,000 by 1981 , a year after its incorporation as a city . The city continued to grow for a few years even after the oil bust caused by the 2003 collapse in world oil prices . The population peaked at almost 37,000 in 1985 , then declined to under 34,000 by 1989 . Low oil prices since the oil price collapse in 1986 slowed the oil sands production greatly , as oil extraction from the oil sands is a very expensive process and lower world prices made this uneconomical . Oil price increases since 2003 made oil extraction profitable again for around a decade , until another slump in oil prices which began in December 2014 and deepened in 2015 resulted in layoffs and postponement of projects . On April 1 , 1995 , the City of Fort McMurray and Improvement District No . 143 were amalgamated to form the Municipality of Wood Buffalo . The new municipality was subsequently renamed the Regional Municipality ( RM ) of Wood Buffalo on August 14 , 1996 . As a result , Fort McMurray was no longer officially designated a city . Instead , it was designated an urban service area within a specialized municipality . The amalgamation resulted in the entire RM of Wood Buffalo being under a single government . Its municipal office is located in Fort McMurray . In June 2013 , heavy rains caused the Hangingstone River to flood , causing a six-day state of emergency , a bridge collapse , the closure of highways 63 and 881 , and the evacuation of 150 people . The flooding was part of more widespread floods in southern Alberta . May 2016 wildfire . On May 3 , 2016 , a large wildfire burning southwest of Fort McMurray resulted in the mandatory evacuation of the community . Record-breaking temperatures , reaching , low relative humidity and strong winds contributed to the fires rapid growth in forests affected by an unusually dry and warm winter . Upwards of 88,000 people in the community and surrounding region were evacuated . It was Canadas largest recorded wildfire evacuation in history and third-largest recorded environmental disaster evacuation behind the 1979 Mississauga train derailment and the 1950 Red River flood . About one-fifth of homes in the community were reported to be destroyed in the fire . May 2017 chlorine gas release . In 2017 chlorine gas was released in Fort McMurray , after chemicals were mixed improperly at a water treatment plant . The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo was fined for the incident in 2020 . April 2020 flood . On April 27 , 2020 , massive ice jams along the Athabasca River resulted in a major flood . It devastated the downtown of Fort McMurray , submerging streets and ruining businesses , cars and houses , and completely wrecking a street , Manning Avenue . Around 13,000 people from Fort McMurray and the surrounding area were evacuated . Geography . Fort McMurray is northeast of Edmonton on Highway 63 , about west of the Saskatchewan border , nestled in the boreal forest at the confluence of the Athabasca River , the Clearwater River , the Hangingstone River , and the Horse River . It sits at above sea level . Fort McMurray is the largest community in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo . White spruce , trembling aspen , balsam poplar and white birch are the most prominent native trees in and around town . Black spruce and tamarack occur in poorly drained areas and jack pine may be seen on the driest sites . European aspen , blue spruce and sand cherry are among the exotic trees occasionally seen . Climate . With severe winters except during periods of warming chinook winds , mild to warm summers and only three months which average temperature is higher than , Fort McMurray has a borderline subarctic climate ( Köppen : Dfc ) , very slightly below to be considered a humid continental climate ( Dfb ) as May averages ; and falls into the Natural Resources Canada ( NRC ) Plant Hardiness Zone 3a . The community lies at a lower elevation than most other parts of Alberta , so under the right conditions it can be a hot spot for Alberta , or even all of Canada ( as in April 1980 when its daily mean temperature of was unsurpassed by any other Canadian station ) . Temperatures range from an average of in January , to in July . The average annual precipitation is and falls mainly in the summer months . Average annual snowfall is , most of which falls between October and April . The highest temperature ever recorded in Fort McMurray was on July 18 , 1941 . The lowest temperature ever recorded was on February 1 , 1917 and December 31 , 1933 . Neighbourhoods . Neighbourhoods in Fort McMurray include Abasand Heights , Beacon Hill , Eagle Ridge , Grayling Terrace , Gregoire , Lower Townsite , Parsons Creek , Prairie Creek , Saline Creek , Stone Creek , Thickwood Heights , Dickinsfield , Timberlea , Waterways . Demographics . Federal census . In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , Fort McMurray recorded a population of 66,573 living in 23,937 of its 28,567 total private dwellings , a change from its 2011 population of 60,555 . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016 . In the 2011 Census , Fort McMurray had a population of 61,374 living in 21,729 of its 26,401 total dwellings , a 28.7% change from its 2006 population of 47,705 . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2011 . Municipal census . The permanent population of Fort McMurray according to its 2018 municipal census is 72,056 , a change of from its 2015 municipal census permanent population of 78,382 . In addition , the 2018 municipal census counted a shadow population of 3,559 non-permanent residents for a combined population of 75,615 , while the 2015 municipal census counted 4,342 non-permanent residents for a combined population of 82,724 . Migration . Fort McMurray is a multicultural community , attracting people from all corners of Canada and the world . Generally , moves to Fort McMurray have increased in the last decade . Still , Albertans make up almost half the number of migrants to Fort McMurray , followed by 17% of people originating from the province of Newfoundland and Labrador . Economy . Fort McMurray is considered the heart of one of Albertas ( and Canadas ) hubs of petroleum production , located near the Athabasca oil sands . Besides the oil sands , the economy also relies on natural gas and pipeline transport , forestry and tourism . Oil sands producers include Syncrude , Suncor Energy , Canadian Natural Resources , and CNOOC Petroleum North America ULC . Fort McMurrays growth is characteristic of a boomtown . Housing prices and rents are far higher in Fort McMurray than most such remote areas , and in 2006 , Fort McMurray had the highest prices in Alberta . The Alberta government has promised to release more Crown land for residential construction , particularly in Timberlea on the north side . Infrastructure . Air . There are several airports in the area , with Fort McMurray International Airport being the largest in northern Alberta . It is serviced by Air Canada , Air Canada Express , McMurray Aviation , Northwestern Air , WestJet and WestJet Encore , with scheduled flights to Calgary , Edmonton , Fort Chipewyan , Fort Smith , and Toronto . The airport is also serviced by various oil companies with corporate and charter flights heading north to private airstrips at oil sands operations . Flights are frequently booked to capacity because of the high transient worker population and workers who commute to Fort McMurray from other parts of Canada . Public transit . Fort McMurray Transit operates in the community , with routes that extend to all subdivisions on the south side and subdivisions on the north side . Although the service concentrates on Fort McMurray it does operate to hamlets in the RM including Anzac , Janvier , Conklin and Fort McKay . Bus . Ebus and Red Arrow operate scheduled passenger bus services to Edmonton and other communities along Highway 63 , as well as other destinations farther south . Highways and roads . Highway 63 is the only highway between Fort McMurray and Edmonton . Due to the industrial demands of the oilsands , Highway 63 boasts some of the highest tonnage per kilometre in Canada , and the largest and heaviest loads that trucks have ever carried . Highway 63 was fully twinned in May 2016 . Highway 881 also provides access to the region from Lac La Biche . Rail . Canadian National Railway ( CN ) discontinued the Muskeg Mixed ( mixed train ) to Fort McMurray in 1989 , and there has been no passenger rail service since . CN continues to operate freight service on its line Lac La Biche and points beyond . Mail . Canada Post identified Fort McMurray as having a particularly high cost to serve in January 2014 , and planned to institute a surcharge of $5.00 for all parcels shipped to the area . However , the postal service retracted this decision before the rate change went into effect . Education . The Fort McMurray Public School District ( FMPSD ) and Catholic School District both serve the primary , elementary , and secondary education needs of students in Fort McMurray . Each school district offers diverse programs like French immersion , performing arts or a dedicated technology and science lab , however only FMPSD offers the Advanced Placement program at one of their schools , being Westwood Community High School . On Abasand Drive , École Boréal is the only francophone school in the area and goes from pre-kindergarten to grade 12 . Keyano College is a publicly funded college and vocational institute based in the area and plays a role in training workers for the oil sands . Known as the cultural hub of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo , Keyano College contains both a state-of-the-art theatre and recital hall , hosting a variety of musical and theatrical events that attract upwards of 50,000 visitors each season . Sports and recreation . Local teams include the Fort McMurray Oil Barons of the Alberta Junior Hockey League ( AJHL ) , the Fort McMurray Giants of the Western Canadian Baseball League ( WCBL ) , and the Keyano Huskies of the Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference ( ACAC ) . The MacDonald Island Park recreation centre is located on MacDonald Island north-east of downtown . The centre contains the Wood Buffalo Regional Library , indoor water park , basketball , tennis and squash courts , rock climbing , fitness centre , indoor playground , ice rinks and public rental space . Shell Place , a connected recreational facility , and a seasonal golf course surround the centre . Fort McMurray Knights Rugby Football Club is also based in the town .