The wildfire scorching through Canada’s oil sands region in northeast Alberta had been expected to double in size on Sunday, but light rains and cooler temperatures helped hold it back.
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The gallery above shows the horrifying aftermath of the inferno that moved through Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, torching possessions and memories indiscriminately along its 400,000-acre path of destruction.
Notley also says she will be meeting with leaders in the energy industry Tuesday to determine when oilsands operations can get fully operational.
“Two neighbourhoods that were destroyed were literally just up the hill from us”.
Reuters spoke to a homeless evacuee from Fort McMurray, Terry MacDuff, who said he had nothing to lose in the fire and was “living like a king” at the Lac la Biche evacuation center.
With temperatures on Saturday expected to rise as high as 28 Celsius (82 Fahrenheit), officials said the weather was hindering efforts to fight the wildfire.
“This is great firefighting weather”, Alberta fire official Chad Morrison said at a weekend news conference.
“The situation remains unpredictable and unsafe”, Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Saturday.
Notley emphasized that there are still “smouldering hotspots”, downed power lines and a lack of services like electricity and water, so the city is not safe for residents.
Regional officials also said via Facebook that firefighters were getting their first break since the fire began a week ago after being relieved by reinforcements.
Emergency management commissioner Duane McKay says the fires, including a blaze that raced through Fort McMurray, haven’t advanced much and that’s a relief.
The entire population of the Canadian city of Fort McMurray was forced to flee because of a huge wildfire.
“At this point, we are assuming about two weeks or so of one million barrels per day being out of production”, said Douglas Porter, chief economist at the Bank of Montreal.”It might end up being worse than this, that’s for sure”.
While its threat to the neighboring province of Saskatchewan is not imminent, the biggest concern is the smoke, according to fire control officials.
No deaths or injuries have been reported but two people died following a auto crash during an evacuation.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said the federal government would match all individual donations made to the Canadian Red Cross.
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Alberta’s oil sands have the third-largest reserves in the world behind Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
