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Fort McMurray — The story of Fort McMurray a year after the wildfire is really — to steal a title from Charles Dickens — a tale of two cities.

In one city, Alberta’s oilsands hub is the embodiment of its slogan Fort McMurray Strong, a blue-collar community again the image of industry and progress.

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Previously scorched neighbourhoods are being reborn. Popular restaurants again have wait lists for tables. Even the resumption of daily traffic jams on Highway 63 is a welcome sign of normalcy.

Many residents say they feel more closely connected to their community than ever before, bonds strengthened by the experience of collective survival and resiliency.

But beneath the city’s outward appearance and motto of strength, Fort McMurray is also fragile and scarred.

You can see it in the numerous For Sale signs around town, many hammered into empty lots that used to be homes.

It’s there in the hilly woodland surrounding the city, the dense wall of green forest turned necrotic shades of grey.