By Penelope Graham and Mike Shipley
As the smoke clears in Fort McMurray, details are emerging on the extent of the damage – and it’s not as severe as residents and insurers feared. Roughly 85% of buildings in the area have been spared from the flames, according to Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, who likened the massive blaze to an “ocean of fire”.
Notley said about 2,400 buildings were lost in the fire, while 25,000 were spared, including the airport, all schools, hospitals and water treatment facilities.
While initial cost estimates were pegged around $9 billion by Bank of Montreal analysts (assuming total devastation), some insurers are finding losses will be less severe than anticipated - Lloyd's underwriter
Hiscox though is that it believes its exposure is not overlarge.
"We have some exposure to homes in western Canada, we think it will be manageable," the underwriter's CEO Bronek Masojada told Reuters.
Other carriers may not escape as unscathed - the wildfires may lead to the great catastrophe ever in Canada, with insured losses of as much as C$7 billion according to estimates from National Bank of Canada.
Intact Financial Corp., the country’s biggest insurer, may post insured losses of as much as C$1.1 billion from the wildfires.
Masojada was talking to reporters as Hiscox reported a 10 percent rise in gross written premiums during the first quarter.
In addition to Fort McMurray blaze – which firefighters have nicknamed “the beast”, there are about 33 other fires currently burning in the province of Alberta. Travis Fairweather, a forestry spokesperson, told Bloomberg that three are out of control. However, cooler weather over the coming days is expected to create more favourable firefighting conditions.
“It should help our crews out there quite a bit after a couple of really hot, really dry days when they’ve had to really work out there," he said. "Now we can try and dig in and make a little progress here." There are more than 700 firefighters working in and around Fort McMurray to contain the fire.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau feels confident enough that Canada’s resources are sufficient to fight the flames, turning down international offers of aid on Monday. “Canada will be a partner in how we rebuild Fort McMurray,” Trudeau told reporters Monday in Ottawa. He plans to announce a visit to the city soon, he said.
