Aid for evacuees was provided by various governments and via donations through the Canadian Red Cross and other local and national charitable organizations.

The fire continued to spread across northern Alberta and into Saskatchewan,[15] consuming forested areas and impacting Athabasca oil sands operations.

[19] During the start of the fire, an unusually hot, dry air mass was in place over Northern Alberta, which brought record-setting temperatures to Fort McMurray.

[22] A natural El Niño cycle also led to a dry fall and winter season along with a warm spring, leaving a paltry snowpack, which melted quickly.

Combined with the high temperatures, this created a "perfect storm" of conditions for an explosive wildfire, and significantly contributed to the fire's rapid growth.

[27] Canada's politicians and scientists both cautioned that individual fires cannot specifically be linked to climate change, but agree that it is part of a general trend of more intense wildfires.

[28] As the fire spread towards settlements in Fort McMurray, a local state of emergency was declared on May 1 at 9:57 p.m. MDT (03:57 UTC May 2) with the Centennial Trailer Park and the neighborhoods of Prairie Creek and Gregoire under a mandatory evacuation.

[26] A further order covering the nearby communities of Anzac, Gregoire Lake Estates, and Fort McMurray First Nation was issued at 9:50 p.m. on May 4 (03:50 UTC May 5).

[17] Evacuees who travelled north of Fort McMurray were advised to stay where they were, and not to come south on Highway 63 as the fire was still burning out of control.

[43] The fire continued to spread south on May 5 across 85,000 ha (210,000 acres) and forcing additional evacuations in the communities of Anzac, Gregoire Lake Estates and the Fort McMurray First Nation.

[44] On May 6, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police began leading convoys to move 1,500 vehicles from oil sand work camps north of Fort McMurray, south along Highway 63 to Edmonton.

[52] While the fire moved away from Fort McMurray, two explosions and poor air quality continued to prevent residents and rebuilding crews from returning to the town.

[57][58][59] On August 2, 2017, with no further detection of hot spots by thermal surveys conducted over the summer, provincial officials declared the wildfire extinguished.

[3] The Government of Alberta declared a provincial state of emergency for Fort McMurray on May 4, 2016, and issued a formal request for assistance from the Canadian Armed Forces.

[60][61] The government and the Department of National Defence signed a memorandum of understanding on May 4, detailing required assistance and use of helicopters for rescue operations.

[66] The firefighters were trained during the month of April at a boot camp, in order to learn how to use special hoses instead of the leather-padded wooden sticks known as "firebeaters" they typically use in their home country due to a lack of water.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley vowed to address the issue and ensure that the firefighters were paid a minimum of C$11.20 per hour as required by the province's labour laws, rather than the C$15 per day allowance specified in their contract with their South African employer.

[74] Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Fort McMurray on May 13 to survey the damage and promised ongoing aid from the federal government in the coming months.

[75][76] The Governor General, David Johnston, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, met with first responders and visited the ruins of the Beacon Hill neighbourhood of Fort McMurray on June 24, 2016.

[78][79] The federal government was criticized after international assistance from Australia, Israel, Mexico, the Palestinian Authority, Russia, Taiwan, and the United States was offered in battling the fire, and turned down by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Trudeau responded that "showing up in Fort McMurray, when firefighters are busy trying to contain a massive raging wildfire, is not a particularly helpful thing," and comparisons were drawn to former Prime Minister Stephen Harper's visit to Kelowna, British Columbia the previous year.

Shell Canada shut down output at its Albian Sands mining operation, located approximately 70 km (43 mi) north of Fort McMurray.

[97] The lost output was estimated to cost the Albertan economy $70 million per day, and was a contributing factor to rises in global oil prices.

[105] The neighbourhoods of Waterways, Abasand, and Beacon Hill were severely burned, and were declared unsafe for reoccupation due to contamination from arsenic and heavy metals from leftover ash.

2,000 residents in these neighbourhoods were only allowed supervised visits to their homes, and relied on workers from the not-for-profit organization Team Rubicon to sift through leftover items.

[110][111] However, insurance companies only provide funds to restore pre-fire conditions, and an independent review by KPMG found that it was unlikely that this would occur.