Oil crash pushing Fort McMurray to the breaking point

As the slowdown in northern Alberta deepens, tens of thousands of unemployed oil patch workers — rigger, welders, pipe fitters, and heavy-haul drivers — are heading home. During the boom times, Fort McMurray attracted workers from across the country, from British Columbia to Newfoundland. Now, those days feel like another lifetime ago.

But what is it like for those people who are already home? What happens to people who live in Fort McMurray — those who bought homes, enrolled their kids in school, got involved in their communities? What has the downturn meant for them?

Fort McMurray hit hardest

Fort McMurray, in the heart of northern Alberta's oil sands, is home to around 75,000 people. Like all resource-industry towns, it has endured previous booms and busts— the cost of hitching your wagon to the shooting star of commodity prices.

But this one has been longer and deeper than anyone imagined.

“If you talk to people here, they see the industry here as vital," said Reegan McCullough, executive director of the Oil Sands Community Alliance.

The decline in oil prices has “made companies look for ways to reduce their operating costs,” McCullough continued, which means workers are getting the axe.

As the glut of oil in the global marketplace continues and the layoffs spread, Fort McMurray has been hit hard.