Fort McMurray (/məkˈmʌri/ mək-MURR-ee) is an urban service area in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in Alberta, Canada.

[10][11] It is located in northeast Alberta, in the middle of the Athabasca oil sands, surrounded by boreal forest.

The 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire led to the evacuation of its residents and caused widespread damage.

[12] Despite its current official designation of urban service area, many locals, politicians and the media still refer to Fort McMurray as a city.

Before the arrival of Europeans in the late 18th century, the Cree were the dominant First Nations people in the Fort McMurray area.

Oil exploration is known to have occurred in the early 20th century, but Fort McMurray's population remained small, no more than a few hundred people.

In 1967, the Great Canadian Oil Sands (now Suncor) plant opened and Fort McMurray's growth soon took off.

[20][21] On May 3, 2016, a large wildfire burning southwest of Fort McMurray resulted in the mandatory evacuation of the community.

[22][23] Record-breaking temperatures, reaching 32.8 °C (91 °F),[24] low relative humidity and strong winds contributed to the fire's rapid growth[23] in forests affected by "an unusually dry and warm winter".

It devastated the downtown of Fort McMurray, submerging streets and ruining businesses, cars and houses.

Black spruce and tamarack occur in poorly drained areas and jack pine may be seen on the driest sites.

[citation needed] With severe winters except during periods of warming chinook winds, mild to warm summers and only three months which average temperature is higher than 10.0 °C (50.0 °F), Fort McMurray has a borderline subarctic climate (Köppen: Dfc), being just below the threshold of humid continental climate (Dfb), with May and September average temperature of 9.9 °C (49.8 °F).

[9] This is a drastic change from the 2012 municipal census, which was taken when Fort McMurray and the oil sands was undergoing a huge period of economic and population growth.

[64][9] Fort McMurray is considered the heart of one of Alberta's (and Canada's) hubs of petroleum production, located near the Athabasca oil sands.

Besides the oil sands, the economy also relies on natural gas and pipeline transport, forestry and tourism.

Oil sands producers include Syncrude, Suncor Energy, Canadian Natural Resources, and CNOOC Petroleum North America ULC.

[1] The Alberta government has promised to release more Crown land for residential construction, particularly in Timberlea on the north side.

[67] Ebus and Red Arrow operate scheduled passenger bus services to Edmonton and other communities along Highway 63, as well as other destinations farther south.

Due to the industrial demands of the oilsands, Highway 63 boasts some of the highest tonnage per kilometre in Canada, and the largest and heaviest loads that trucks have ever carried.

CN continues to operate freight service on its Lac La Biche subdivision and stations beyond.

Canada Post identified Fort McMurray as "having a particularly high cost to serve" in January 2014, and planned to institute a surcharge of $5.00 for all parcels shipped to the area.

Known as the cultural hub of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Keyano College contains both a state-of-the-art theatre and recital hall, hosting a variety of musical and theatrical events that attract upwards of 50,000 visitors each season.

Local teams include the Fort McMurray Oil Barons of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), the Fort McMurray Giants of the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL), and the Keyano Huskies of the Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference (ACAC).

The centre contains the Wood Buffalo Regional Library, indoor water park, basketball, tennis and squash courts, rock climbing, fitness centre, indoor playground, ice rinks and public rental space.