Labatt brewing water to help those affected by Fort McMurray wildfire
Labatt is sending at least 200,000 cans of drinking water to Alberta this week
A Canadian brewery has prepared a special batch for Fort McMurray firefighters and evacuees.
Instead of beer, Labatt Breweries is shipping 200,000 cans of water to assist those affected by a wildfire that continues to burn out of control in northern Alberta.
The company said it has an additional 130,000 cans of water ready to ship later this week, if needed.
Many of those cans are already in the hands of evacuees.
"We were able to get water mobilized rapidly Monday," said Jeff Ryan, senior director of corporate affairs. "We had 69,000 cans from our warehouse to Northlands in Edmonton by end of day Monday."
'A few of those poor folks could have used a cold beer'
Evacuees took to social media to share their appreciation — and unwavering sense of humour — for the water shipments.
But some commentators on a Facebook post shared by Edmonton radio personality Ryder in the Morning yearned for something perhaps a little stronger than water.
A very Canadian thing to do... <a href="https://t.co/WrEFPaorMN">https://t.co/WrEFPaorMN</a>
—@liberaleliteThis is a great idea. <a href="https://t.co/Q2HpimN9u7">https://t.co/Q2HpimN9u7</a> but next time just send beer. These are <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Albertans?src=hash">#Albertans</a> dammit not the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Swedish?src=hash">#Swedish</a>
—@whateverericBig shoutout to <a href="https://twitter.com/labatt">@labatt</a> Creating 200,000 cans of water for the victims of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/yymfire?src=hash">#yymfire</a> <a href="https://t.co/7Qzlf3F2Kr">pic.twitter.com/7Qzlf3F2Kr</a>
—@adamjphillipsUnfortunately for some, Labatt is not currently considering donating beer, Ryan said.
Producing canned water has become a yearly tradition for the company.
Since 2012, Labatt has closed its brewery in London, Ont., for one day each year to produce and store emergency drinking water.
Labatt sent 48,000 cans of water to CFB Cold Lake last year to assist those affected by wildfires in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.