The Wood Buffalo RCMP is back to full operation after the wildfire evacuation and destruction, and everything is in place so that the re-entry for those evacuated can go ahead as planned so far. RCMP Superintendant Rob McCloy recently gave the Wood Buffalo council a presentation and he told the council that morale was extremely high among the officers. Local members of the detachment had an enforced break but this is over and officers are back patrolling the community. McCloy also explained that during the worst of it many of the officers would catch some sleep in their vehicles while they were between shifts. According to McCloy during the presentation “The main thing I want to say is, we’re back.” The superintendent also made it clear that the mass looting rumors that were circulating on Facebook were not true, saying “It’s locked down.”

With the Wood Buffalo RCMP back to full operation people who return during the re-entry phase can be assured that they are safe and that police are engaged in patrols. After the community was evacuated police reports showed that many doors were kicked in, but it is not yet clear whether many of these cases involved looting or if the doors were broken as a result of search and rescue efforts. According to the RCMP “We’re not treating it as a crime per se until people come in.” Those returning can report a crime if they determine anything is missing, but until the resident reports a crime police have no way of knowing whether the broken doors and home entries were the result of neighbors trying to rescue people and pets.