The blaze, the largest of some 40 wildfires burning across the province of Alberta, has forced some 88,000 residents, the entire population of Fort McMurray, to flee for safety.
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“This remains a big, out of control, unsafe fire”, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said of the raging inferno the size of London that forced the evacuation of the city of Fort McMurray.
She believes the family home in Fort McMurray is one of the ones still standing but until they can return, they’d like to be in Toronto where her family, which includes boys who turn 1 and 3 later this month, has more support.
Environment Canada says people in the affected areas may experience symptoms, such as increased coughing, throat irritation, headaches or shortness of breath.
The @RCMPAlberta are continuing to relocate northern evacuees today via Hwy.
“This facility, it should be emphasized, is highly resilient to forest fires as we have seen in past when it’s previously been threatened by very large fires”, Notley said. The cuts, and the mass exodus of more than 80,000 people from the fires raging in Fort McMurray, represent another blow to an economy already mired in recession from the oil price collapse.
A burned bicycle lays on the ground in a residential neighborhood of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada on May 7, 2016.
“We’ve heard many are still standing, but of course, they may have suffered smoke damage and who knows what else”, Kaiser said.
Police took up positions at intersections along the way to keep evacuees from detouring to try to salvage belongings from charred homes and make sure the route remains safe from the fire, which has encircled the town of 100,000, now evacuated.
With 2,000 square kilometres of forests and brush, as well as whole neighbourhoods of the city, turned to ash – an area three-quarters the size of Luxembourg – firefighters battling the blaze are concentrating on saving vital infrastructure, including telecommunications, electric grids, gas and water lines. Almost 30 per cent of the fire is burning in Alberta after it crossed the border late Thursday.
Major oil-sands sites are near Fort McMurray and are concentrated to the north. They were forced to move again as supplies ran low and the oil companies made a decision to evacuate their own employees.
The vast majority of personnel at both Syncrude and Suncor oil facilities in the area have been evacuated as a precaution. The company said in a statement that while there was no imminent threat from fire, smoke had reached its Mildred Lake site.
There is a 30 percent chance of rain on Sunday, followed by cooler temperatures next week, which should “hold the border” of the blaze, Morrison said. And even if the much-needed rainfall arrives, Morrison warned that “we’ll be here for weeks and weeks”.
CBC News reported the fire had expanded southeast and grown to 156,000 hectares (385,000 acres).
Also schools across Alberta are opening their classrooms to the 12-thousand students evacuated from Fort McMurray.
Jihad Moghrabi, a spokesman for Lac La Biche County, said that 4,400 evacuees have come through The Bold Center, a sports facility in town. At the center, tables were piled with clothes, towels and other items.
The Canadian government is offering health and mental health services for the people who had to suddenly leave their homes, often with little preparation.
“Trees were blowing up against our vehicles”, Philip Wylie said of the drive out of town.
“We were unable to get a new update on the estimated size, so we’re still going with around 156,000 hectares, but we did expect it to grow yesterday”.
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The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has confirmed that a two-day evacuation of tens of thousands of residents from Fort McMurray was now complete.
