This is oil sands country, and although this is a depressed economy, the trailer homes are worth about $500,000 each. The Fort McMurray community of nearly 80,000 is in the heart of the Athabasca oil sands region. My wife was out “at site,” the local name for the oil sands businesses. Unlike drilling, extracting oil from sand is costly, and works best when the price of oil is high. Throughout all of this, the population of Fort McMurray kept growing: Two babies were born in work lodges north of the city.

Source: New York Times May 06, 2016 20:56 UTC