Dec 20 2016 The Canadian Press

A vicious, seemingly unrelenting wildfire that laid waste to a large swath of Canada’s oilsands region has been picked as Canada’s top news story of 2016.

 

Senior editors in newsrooms across the country made the selection from a list that also included the ongoing settlement of Syrian refugees, Canada’s fentanyl crisis and the farewell tour of rock band The Tragically Hip.

 

Dubbed “the beast” by firefighters who tried valiantly to put it down, the Fort McMurray wildfire forced nearly 90,000 people to flee for their lives in northern Alberta and burned thousands of homes to the ground.

 

Flames tore into the community on May 3 and it would be the start of June before people could begin returning to their scarred city.

 

Amid all the devastation, Canadians from coast to coast came together for a massive relief effort the likes of which has rarely been seen.

 

The Red Cross raised nearly $320 million in donations and matching government funds to support evacuees _ the equivalent of almost $10 from every man, woman and child in the country.

 

The wildfire received 39 votes from editors, 58 per cent of the ballots cast.