Fort McMurray evacuees plagued by PTSD, study suggests

The destruction caused by the Fort McMurray wildfires is still being felt by those who lived through it, and the damage runs deep for evacuees haunted by the disaster.

New research suggests some evacuees who were forced to flee for the lives when the flames breached city limits last May now suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other mental-health issues.

“After major disasters such as the wildfires invaded the community of Fort McMurray we can expect that people are going to react,” said lead researcher Geneviève Belleville, a professor and clinical psychologist at Laval University, who is a specialist in traumatic stress.

“In a sense, post-traumatic symptoms right after the disaster are what we call a normal reaction to an abnormal event.”

• Laval researchers in Fort McMurray to study PTSD effects

Between July and August 2016, researchers travelled to Fort McMurray and interviewed 55 residents and had 379 people complete online questionnaires.

According to a clinical review, 29 per cent of participants showed signs of PTSD, 26 per cent had a major depressive disorder and 36 per cent had insomnia.

The fire, which became known as “The Beast” for its merciless unpredictability, destroyed 2,400 homes and buildings and caused the largest evacuation in Alberta history. In just a few frantic hours, more than 80,000 people fled the city as the roaring flames devoured homes, and flanked the only highway out of the northern Alberta city.

“We were expecting that people were going to have some physiological distress,” said Belleville in an interview with CBC Radio’s Edmonton AM.

“It’s not easy to lose your home, or lose your neighbourhood or have to relocate or face all the losses that they endured.”

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A larger team of researchers will return to Fort McMurray this spring or early summer to expand the study and re-interview participants to track their progress. They’re hoping to monitor the mental health of at least 1,500 residents for the next few years to see how they cope. 

‘Don’t stay alone with an enduring distress’

Though most people will heal with time, Belleville expects some study participants who were previously symptom free may begin to suffer psychological damage. PTSD can often remain dormant after a disaster, only to surface months later, she said.

During their three-week study, many people were still in crisis.

“In our samples, there were people who had not yet returned home, so they were still in the aftermath of the disaster,” said Belleville, who has previously worked with victims of sexual abuse and soldiers who served in Afghanistan.

“It’s pretty unique data, in the sense in that it’s not often that we get to people and get their reactions so soon after a disaster. But of course this data has to be extended.”

Belleville acknowledges that the sample size was too small but said “compromises in the methodology” had to be made in order to reach evacuees immediately after they were allowed back into the city. 

After hearing from so many evacuees who are plagued by memories of the fire, Belleville has one message to those who may be suffering — seek help.  Too often, people with mental health issues suffer in solitude, she said. 

“Don’t stay alone with an enduring distress,” she said. “Seek out support or professional help if you need it.”