Firefighters, first responders welcome evacuees back to Fort McMurray

the firefighters and first responders hailed as heroes for saving most of the city and safeguarding its people as they fled a monster wildfire in May parked their rigs and hung banners to welcome the oil-town’s gritty residents as they headed back home along Highway 63.  As the first residents arrived, passing a huge Canadian flag hung between the ladders of two fire trucks parked on one bridge, the Fort Mac Evacuees saw for the first time the devastation.  They saw destroyed areas covered with a white substance sprayed to keep toxic ash from blowing about. On arrival, they found re-entry information booklets in plastic bags hanging from doorknobs, 36-page instruction manuals for cleaning and disposal of belongings and property ruined by fire, smoke and ash.