More than 2,400 buildings were destroyed in Fort McMurray earlier this month and the northeastern Alberta city remains under a mandatory evacuation order. More than 80,000 people fled the blaze from Fort McMurray and surrounding areas initially, and another 8,000 workers were forced to clear out last week as the fire turned back north of the community, thwarting some production restarts.
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The province said it could still be a few more days before workers are allowed back to Syncrude and Suncor.
“There always is that potential that flames could cross the firebreaks around the Suncor and Syncrude facilities, that firefighters patrol”, Morrison said.
News of additional camps set to re-open came a day after authorities announced a similar plan for camps near Nexen’s Long Lake and ConocoPhillips’s Surmont facilities, both of which had stopped production due to the fire. However, the air quality is still 6/10 in Fort McMurray as of Friday morning.
Firefighters battling the giant wildfire near Fort McMurray are finally getting a break from Mother Nature.
“The phased re-entry for all oil sands camps in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is now under way”, said Robin Smith, a spokesman for the municipality.
It also triggered a prolonged shutdown that has cut Canadian oil output by a million barrels a day. The Canadian Armed Forces have air assets deployed in support of Alberta’s wildfire emergency response efforts.
It said at the time that the date depended on wildfire conditions not impeding restoration efforts, and that remained the case on Saturday.
Work camps that were evacuated are being inspected for re-opening, and oil sands companies are looking at when they can resume operations.
Evacuation orders have been lifted on two oil sites in Canada’s wildfire-ravaged energy heartland, as a spell of cold weather and rain helped to tame the flames.
“The cooler calmer conditions have really helped firefighters and the temperatures aren’t expected to spike over the next couple of days so firefighters will continue to make good progress”.
Officials hope to have the remaining evacuees return home starting June 1.
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Among the odder problems generated by the wildfire is the increasing prevalence of black bears in Fort McMurray.
