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without relying on the first advance with the insurance proceeds. I’m trying to find a new normal. We obviously struggle once in a while with what we went through.” Bussieres said even those that didn’t lose a property were impacted by the fire and he hopes those in need will seek help and that the community will step up to assist. When it comes to the business community, Bussieres said some places are re-opening, but some business owners can’t keep up with the economic downturn that has impacted Alberta both before and after the fire. “There’s a lot of variables. Some business owners have been able to overcome them and some are still struggling and some probably won’t reopen.” Gene Ouellette is one of the lucky ones back in business, but he’s in a different spot after the fire destroyed Four Seasons Power Sports, the recreational vehicle dealership he purchased in 2007. He said the week of the fire began fairly normal. He said some people were on guard, but he didn’t think fire would destroy a large portion of the community within two days. “We knew the fire was there for three days and didn’t see a lot of resource being put on it,” Ouellette said. “The wind was in such a manner on the Monday that it didn’t really seem like the fire was here. On Tuesday, on (May 3), there was not smoke in the air. So obviously the wind was going in a direction that didn’t really give you any indication that it was that close.” Ouellette went to work as usual. Later, a customer came in and said he was in a hurry to leave town because he thought the highway would close soon after.

“I’d only seen the fire that day when I came back from lunch to the office and it was just burning the hill behind the downtown RE/MAX office,” Bussieres said. “I went into the office and I told everyone to lock up and get out of town.” Bussieres said his sister called Father Mercredi High School and asked staff to release their kids. Bussieres said those at the school also weren’t aware of the situation and were reluctant, but his sister was able to convince staff to let his two sons and her son out. He said his sons left town with his father, while his wife and oldest son were already away from home at the time. He stayed behind. Bussieres said. “My son was smart enough to take my mother’s ashes. Besides that, we lost everything. We were fortunate enough, when we returned back to the community a month later, that there were a bunch of pictures that were covered or protected from the fire that we were able to salvage. We did manage to save 500 or 600 pictures and memories that way.” Bussieres said his family stayed in hotels in different parts of Alberta as well as a rental in Edmonton until they could return to Fort McMurray in mid- June as council meetings started up again. He says he and his wife found a place to rent there until their house was rebuilt. As of April 2017, the family is awaiting furniture and will be moving in around the anniversary of the fire. “I never expected our house to burn to be honest, so we didn’t take anything,” “We’re fortunate enough that we have a roof over our head,” he said. “Obviously dealing with insurance has been difficult. We’ve been fortunate enough to proceed with the rebuild

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