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Fort McMurray approves plan to bolster wildfire prevention

Jan 31, 2018 | 6:57 AM

FORT MCMURRAY- Wood Buffalo council has approved a plan to help prevent destructive wildfires such as the one that ravaged the Fort McMurray community in 2016.

The Regional Municipality says the five-year mitigation strategy includes a more robust fire prevention program.

The plan calls for more tree and brush clearing and for residents to remove any combustible material within 1.5 metres of homes.

The fire that roared through the region in May of 2016 forced more than 80,000 people from the area and destroyed almost 2,600 dwellings.