“This city will emerge from this emergency with real structural resiliency and most of its critical infrastructure saved”, she said. But it also moved far enough away from the evacuated town to allow an official delegation to visit on Monday.
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The Fort McMurray wildfire has already torched 400,000 acres – half the size of Rhode Island.
Sikora said as of Monday there were 105 cases reported in Edmonton, four cases in Calgary and nine in the central zone. “For those in and around Fort McMurray though, there is an economic outcome to taking production off line”, Notley said.
Evacuees from the Fort McMurray wildfires use the sleeping room at the “Bold Center” in Lac la Biche, Alta. on May 5, 2016.
It’s likely the oilsands plants will be ready to go before the city, where residents probably won’t be able to return for weeks, not days.
“If that fire had gotten into downtown, we would have lost the downtown area”, he said.
“I had the clothes on my back, my flip flops and painting stuff in my vehicle, that’s all I had”, he said. There’s risky hazardous material all over the place.
But she said it’s not safe yet for people to return to homes still standing because large sections of town don’t have power, gas or water.
Meanwhile, fire crews are benefitting from low temperatures and increased humidity as they continue to battle the wildfire, according to Wildfire Information Officer Matthew Anderson. She was also given a tour of the devastation in Fort McMurray.
Jean seemed close to tears a couple of times when he spoke with evacuees. He said most people are still optimistic, but there are some concerns about money. “But other than that, people are in good spirits”, he said.
In one encouraging sign for industry, Royal Dutch Shell Plc said on Monday it restarted production at a reduced rate at its Albian oil sands mining operation in Alberta, adding it plans to fly staff in and out.
Lane said while it’s now unclear what specific duties will be assigned to the volunteers, they will generally provide health-care services to evacuees who need them.
“I think it’s going to be traumatic for everyone, and I want my kids to come back to normalcy”, Gallant said.
More than 500 firefighters were on site, backed by 200 helicopters, 27 water bombers and 44 pieces of heavy equipment.
“If you are impacted by the Fort McMurray fire, there is a number, a designated number that indicates you were impacted by the Fort McMurray crisis”. Twelve buildings were destroyed in that hamlet.
Russell Thomas’ acrylic depiction of the angst-ridden face of Fort McMurray Fire Chief Darby Allen will soon be sold in prints, the money raised going to the United Way of Fort McMurray to help soothe the social impacts of the disaster.
Amidst the rubble and the wreckage in these neighbourhoods, some things remained untouched. “Like I said, only 20 per cent of the homes burnt, so there’s 80 per cent that we do have a vacancy, so we’ll be fine”.
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“We are really working hard on that, it’s a complicated process, what’s damaged, what’s left”, Allen said in a posted video.
