In the wildfire aftermath Fort Mcmurray is a ghost town, with more than 80,000 residents evacuated and only service and emergency organizations allowed into the area. Recently the Wood Buffalo RCMP officers discussed what it was like policing the city, and there are investigations into at least 100 breaking and entering incidents. The police are taking an optimistic view of this, and it is hoped that many of the forcible entries were not for criminal purposes. The RCMP detailed that in a number of cases valuables were visible in plain view yet these were not taken. It is very possible that some of the forcible entry cases were the result of search or rescue efforts and not the results of robbers trying to steal from those forced to flee the wildfire.

The wildfire aftermath in Fort McMurray has led to police officers finding people who did not evacuate as ordered as well as the forcible entry cases. According to RCMP Inspector Kevin Kunetzki during an RCMP K Division press conference “Our investigators have observed many cases where valuables were clearly visible within the home, which would indicate something other than a criminal act had occurred. We will followup, starting by contacting the homeowners to see if they can explain the incident. It was only a very small, handful of people who refused to leave. The vast majority of residents in those areas were very co-operative and understood the safety concerns, and evacuated the area without incident. They wanted the assistance they just didn’t have the means, so we were able to provide that. A third case involves firearms being turned over to the RCMP by a farmer who wanted to ensure his firearms would be safely kept. Police are not forcibly entering homes to seize firearms.”