WILDFIRE MYTHS DEBUNKED.

Alberta is running wild with rumours, speculation and the occasional pointed finger. The National Post’s Edmonton correspondent, Tristin Hopper, dug up the big ones — and explained why it’s best to not always believe everything you hear.

THE PROVINCE DOOMED FORT McMURRAY BY SLASHING THE FIREFIGHTING BUDGET

In a PR nightmare for the ages, Premier Rachel Notley did indeed slash $5.3 million from the Alberta firefighting budget only weeks before the most devastating forest fire in the province’s history. But the cut was an accounting screwup, rather than a real-world kneecapping of Alberta’s firefighters. Firefighting money is emergency funding; it’s virtually unlimited in times of disaster. What the budget did is lowball what the final bill was going to be when the firefighting season ended.

THE RED CROSS IS GETTING RICH OFF FORT McMURRAY

Even when every official in Alberta is urging people to put relief efforts toward long-term Red Cross-managed funds, many staunchly refuse based on the belief that the Red Cross are soulless, bureaucratic tragedy profiteers. Responding to these criticisms, the Alberta branch of the Red Cross publicly told CBC that 95 per cent of the now-$60-million donation pool will go directly to Fort McMurray relief efforts.

RUSSIA COULD STOP THE FIRE IF ONLY JUSTIN TRUDEAU WOULD LET THEM

The Russian Federation offered a handful of Ilyushin Il-76 firefighting aircraft capable of dumping “42 tons of fire retardant into fire spots.” Ottawa turned them down. While it’s nice to think that Vladimir Putin could simply sucker punch the Fort McMurray fire back to hell, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is almost certainly taking his orders from first responders. One of the most difficult parts of fighting a forest fire is co-ordinating smoky skies filled with low-flying helicopters and water bombers.

TRUDEAU DOESN’T CARE ABOUT ALBERTA BECAUSE HE WAITED MORE THAN A WEEK TO TOUR THE FIRE ZONE

These critics likely underestimate the overwhelming logistics of getting a prime minister into an active disaster area. Escorts need to be arranged, schedules need to be approved, and front-line workers need to be diverted to act as guides.

ECO-ACTIVISTS STARTED THE FIRE

“Eco-Terrorism suspected in Ft. Mcmurray fire,” reads the headline in a screenshot of a fake CBC News story. The image is a complete fabrication. Fort McMurray is misspelled, for one, and the author of the story is listed as “Mark Lamoureu” a garbled take on the name of actual CBC web writer Mack Lamoureux.

ISIL STARTED THE FIRE

Easily the most insane rumour.