‘We don’t catch a break’: First Brian Jean lost his house to the Fort McMurray wildfire. This time, it was a flood

On Monday morning Brian Jean lost everything. Again.

Just days before marking the four-year anniversary of his Fort McMurray home going up in flames after a wildfire swept through the city, his new house was flooded when spring ice breakup on the Athabasca and Clearwater rivers forced water into the downtown core.

In an emotional phone interview from his mother's house Monday afternoon, the former Wildrose Party leader and federal MP told the Star his home was badly damaged in the flooding that has forced thousands to evacuate the northern Alberta town.

"We'll get through," he said.

"But it's ... you know. My wife lost her childhood piano in the fire and now she's going to lose the one I replaced. It just sucks."

For many in Alberta, Jean was one of the trusted faces leading the response to the devastating wildfires in 2016, alongside then premier Rachel Notley.

Jean, a former MLA representing Fort McMurray, was the leader of the Opposition in the provincial legislature when his home was one of approximately 2,400 structures that burned to the ground in Fort McMurray when a wildfire swept into the city on May 3, 2016 and forced the evacuation of roughly 90,000 people.

The day after the fire, Jean posted a Facebook photo of the green tent he slept in outside the city, a safe distance from the flames.

"I lost everything," he told Global News four years ago almost to the day.

The city surrounded by forest in the heart of Alberta's once booming oilsands has struggled to recover economically since the fires, which caused nearly $10 billion in damages. More recently it has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting drop in demand for fuel, plus a historic drop in oil prices. Then came the flood.

"We don't catch a break," Jean said. "Maybe God will give us a chance."

While rising water is normal around spring as warmer weather causes ice to break up, an unusually large amount of ice breakup is believed to be the culprit behind the flood that slammed Fort McMurray this week.

"A lot of people lost a lot of property," Jean said Monday. "My nephew lost his house for a second time."

From his mother's house, Jean said he could see water pumps battling the floodwaters.

But it was too late for his brand-new home. He said they were just putting the finishing touches on the new house a week before. "Now that's gone. That's under ten feet of water."

He said his wife and baby daughter, who was born last year, left for Edmonton.

"A lot of people lost a lot more than I did, so, I feel bad for them."

"But you know, this economy and this place is very important to Canada so I have a feeling that people will get it in their mind that, you know, we'll band together and build it back up."

Shane Schreiber, the managing director of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, said that there were at least 2,000 people evacuating, but that he expected that number to grow.

A 30 kilometre long ice jam is the reason behind the floods, he said.

Beginning early Monday morning the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo began issuing mandatory evacuation orders for areas close to the flood zones around the downtown. A boil water advisory was also issued for Fort McMurray, which has a population of around 67,000.

"Evacuees are reminded to continue to practice physical distancing and follow current public health recommendations while evacuating," reads a bulletin posted by the municipality online.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and Environment Minister Jason Nixon travelled to Fort McMurray to survey the situation on the ground Monday where they're supposed to meet with mayor Don Scott and local MLAs.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the federal government was aware of the situation and was looking for ways to help.

And the COVID-19 pandemic is still on everyone's mind.

"Instead of putting (evacuees) in a communal facility, like a hockey rink with cots, we're trying to put everybody up in commercial accommodations with their own separate rooms," said Schreiber.

"For the people up in Fort McMurray, you know, it being so close to the anniversary of the evacuation of Fort McMurray under those incredible conditions in 2016, I think it's almost like a triple whammy."

With files from The Canadian Press

Kieran Leavitt is an Edmonton-based reporter covering provincial affairs for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @kieranleavitt