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Fort McMurray wildfire: $3.6B in damage, says Insurance Bureau of Canada

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Fort McMurray wildfire: $3.6B in damage, says Insurance Bureau of Canada
WATCH ABOVE: At $3.58 billion dollars, the Fort McMurray wildfire is most expensive disaster in Canadian history. Fletcher Kent reports on the Insurance Bureau of Canada's numbers. – Jul 7, 2016

The Insurance Bureau of Canada says insured damage caused by the wildfires in Fort McMurray, Alta., totalled $3.58 billion, making it the most expensive disaster for insurers in the country’s history.

The fires in May forced the evacuation of almost 90,000 residents from the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo and destroyed about 2,400 homes and other buildings.

People have since been allowed back into the community, but it took nearly two months before a state of emergency could be lifted.

READ MORE: Fort McMurray wildfire: ‘The beast’ finally under control

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The bureau said the estimate will be the first based on data collected by Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc., a company that compiles insured loss amounts based on surveys with insurers.

The costliest insured disaster in Canadian history was the Quebec ice storm of 1998, which forced insurers to pay out $1.9 billion in constant 2014 dollars, according to a 2015 IBC annual report.

The Alberta floods of 2013 were the second costliest, resulting in $1.8 billion in insured damage.

Watch Below: Dramatic footage of the Fort McMurray evacuation.

As for the region’s biggest economic driver, analysts say lost oilsands production from the Fort McMurray wildfires could top 30 million barrels and cost the industry upwards of $1.4 billion.

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READ MORE: RCMP say Fort McMurray wildfire likely ‘result of human activity,’ investigate if blaze was criminal

Some of the largest oilsands producers in the province were forced to shut down or curtail operations due to the May wildfire. Damage to oilsands projects was minimal but analysts say restarting operations took longer than expected.

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Crews work to clean up the wildfire destruction in Fort McMurray Alta., on June 24, 2016. The Alberta government says it will post online the resumes of companies that want to rebuild homes destroyed or damaged by the Fort McMurray wildfires in a move to help residents make informed choices. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
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Burned trees are shown in Saprae Creek near Fort McMurray Alta, on Friday June 3, 2016. Analysts say lost oilsands production from the Fort McMurray wildfires could top 30 million barrels and cost the industry upwards of $1.4 billion. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
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Street signs still stand in a Fort McMurray neighbourhood devastated by wildfire. Global News
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Rubble from a burned out home is seen on Silin Forest Road in Fort McMurray, Alta., on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Codie McLachlan, The Canadian Press
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Workers put out markers around a devastated area of Timberlea in Fort McMurray Alta, on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Jason Franson, The Canadian Press
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The devastated area of Timberlea in Fort McMurray Alta, on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Members of the community are slowly being allowed back into their homes. Jason Franson, The Canadian Press
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A resident of the Timberlea neighbourhood looks over the damage of the area in Fort McMurray, Alta, on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Members of the community are slowly being allowed back into their homes. Jason Franson, The Canadian Press
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A family photo lies among the burnt rubble in the Timberlea neighbourhood in Fort McMurray Alta, on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Members of the community are slowly being allowed back into their homes. Jason Franson, The Canadian Press
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Jason Franson, The Canadian Press
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A burned-out vehicle is seen in the Timberlea neighbourhood as residents re-enter fire-ravaged Fort McMurray, Alta., on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Codie McLachlan, The Canadian Press
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Burned-out homes and vehicles are seen in the Timberlea neighbourhood as residents re-enter fire-ravaged Fort McMurray, Alta., on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Codie McLachlan, The Canadian Press
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Burned-out homes and vehicles are seen in the Timberlea neighbourhood as residents re-enter fire-ravaged Fort McMurray, Alta., on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Codie McLachlan, The Canadian Press
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A burned-out bulldozer sits among the rubble in Fort McMurray Alta, on Thursday June 2, 2016. Members of the community are slowly being allowed back into their homes. Jason Franson, The Canadian Press
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Burned-out homes and vehicles are seen in the Timberlea neighbourhood as residents re-enter fire-ravaged Fort McMurray, Alta., on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Codie McLachlan, The Canadian Press
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Burned-out homes and vehicles are seen in the Timberlea neighbourhood as residents re-enter fire-ravaged Fort McMurray, Alta., on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Codie McLachlan, The Canadian Press
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Burned-out homes and vehicles are seen in the Timberlea neighbourhood as residents re-enter fire-ravaged Fort McMurray, Alta., on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Codie McLachlan, The Canadian Press
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A man stands where his garage used to be in the Timberlea neighbourhood as people re-enter fire-ravaged Fort McMurray, Alta., on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Codie McLachlan, The Canadian Press
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Residents survey the damage to their homes in the Timberlea neighbourhood as people re-enter fire-ravaged Fort McMurray, Alta., on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Codie McLachlan, The Canadian Press
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Residents survey the damage to their homes in the Timberlea neighbourhood as people re-enter fire-ravaged Fort McMurray, Alta., on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Codie McLachlan, The Canadian Press
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Residents survey the damage to their homes in the Timberlea neighbourhood as people re-enter fire-ravaged Fort McMurray, Alta., on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Codie McLachlan, The Canadian Press
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A man surveys damage to his home in the Timberlea neighbourhood as people re-enter fire-ravaged Fort McMurray, Alta., on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Codie McLachlan, The Canadian Press
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Residents survey the damage to their homes in the Timberlea neighbourhood as people re-enter fire-ravaged Fort McMurray, Alta., on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Codie McLachlan, The Canadian Press
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A man looks through rubble in the Timberlea neighbourhood as residents re-enter fire-ravaged Fort McMurray, Alta., on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Codie McLachlan, The Canadian Press
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Burned-out homes and vehicles are seen in the Timberlea neighbourhood as residents re-enter fire-ravaged Fort McMurray, Alta., on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Codie McLachlan, The Canadian Press
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Extensive damage caused by a previous house explosion in the Dickinsfield neighbourhood is seen in Fort McMurray, Alta., on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Codie McLachlan, The Canadian Press
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Extensive damage caused by a previous house explosion in the Dickinsfield neighbourhood is seen in Fort McMurray, Alta., on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Codie McLachlan, The Canadian Press
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Extensive damage caused by a previous house explosion in the Dickinsfield neighbourhood is seen in Fort McMurray, Alta., on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Codie McLachlan, The Canadian Press
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Smoke rises from buildings destroyed by a wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alta., in this May 6, 2016, handout still from video. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO
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Burnt out trees are shown in Fort McMurray, Alta., in a May 13, 2016, file photo. Jason Franson, The Canadian Press
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A giant fireball is visible as a wildfire rips through the forest by Highway 63, 16 kilometres south of Fort McMurray, Alta on Saturday, May 7, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward.

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