Alberta officials on Saturday lifted mandatory evacuation orders in some areas north of Fort McMurray, where a raging wildfire has forced the evacuation of more than 80,000 people and the closure of oil sands operations.
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However, the fire was continuing to move northeast, further away from communities and oilsands facilities in northern Alberta.
“There hasn’t been a lot of rain, but the temperatures are cooler”.
The fire has grown to about 5,230 square kilometres (2019 square miles), with 25 square kilometres (9.65 square miles) spreading into Saskatchewan.
Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Danielle Larivee said work camps that were evacuated are being inspected for possible reopening, and oilsands companies are looking at when they can resume operations.
Some of the area’s more than 90,000 evacuated residents may be allowed to return starting on June 1, depending on air quality and other factors.
Some 8,000 people had been ordered out of the area one week ago after the fire intensified and spread suddenly, destroying a sprawling 665-room lodge that housed oil workers.
As a precaution, some million barrels per day of oil sands crude production was lost because of disruptions to regional pipelines over a two-week period, and much of that production remains offline.
The wildfire information officer said that the firefighters are taking advantage of the weather and making progress in dousing the eildfore which has continued for the fourth week.
No rain has been forecast for Tuesday.
Officials on Sunday removed evacuation requirements at facilities belonging to Canadian firms Suncor and Syncrude as falling temperatures and light rain boosted efforts to control wildfires. All will return “in a phased manner over the next few weeks”, it said on Facebook.
It is hoped that residents will be able to start returning on 1 June, provided certain safety conditions are met.
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The lifting of evacuation orders means that workers can return to lodging sites as soon as the facilities are deemed safe by provincial forestry and health authorities, a process likely to be completed in the coming days, said municipality spokesman Smith.
