In the aftermath of the Fort McMurray wildfire the number of mental health referrals for area residents has increased. Many of the people in the Wood Buffalo community were forced to flee their home with little advance notice, and some were forced to travel between walls of flame as they fled in terror. Coming back home after the forced evacuation often meant seeing everything destroyed, with little left but ash and rubble. With all of these factors it is no surprise that the mental health of the residents has been affected, or that more people than before are seeking counseling and therapy for all of the trauma that they have suffered in recent months.
The Fort McMurray wildfire affected some more deeply than others and at least 20% of the local community, or 1 in 5 people, have received mental health referrals associated with trauma related to the events surrounding the Fort McMurray wildfire. One resident affected is Sarah Legacy, who told CBS News “The flames were very vivid in my sleep. Even talking about it now makes my stomach very nervous. I just could not do my daily activities. It’s kind of a strange thing to say, but I was frozen by fear.” Mental health professionals believe that this is just the tip of the iceberg, and that as time goes by even more people will seek help and treatment for mental health issues caused by the fire and their evacuation. According to Dr. Sandra Corbett “People who were evacuated felt very uprooted. We know there are different states in the process, of the kind of different emotions that the people go through.”