Notley said oilsands facilities north of Fort McMurray were not damaged by the fire, and said production for many operators continued as before, but that wasn’t the case for companies closer to Fort McMurray.
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Cogeneration power plants in the oil town of Fort McMurray operated at near 18 per cent of capacity early Mondayas oil sands producers in the area kept operations shut.
Fire officials are bracing themselves for a long, long fight against the blaze that forced the evacuation of Fort McMurray.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he will visit the fire-devastated community of Fort McMurray, Alta., on Friday.
More than 80,000 residents had to evacuate Fort McMurray from a fire which continues to burn.
Even so, authorities have warned that authorization for evacuees to return to their homes, or what is left of them, is not likely to be forthcoming for several weeks.
There was still no timeline, however, for getting Fort McMurray’s 88,000 inhabitants back into what remains of their town.
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said the wildfire grew much more slowly than had been feared and it was now 161,000 hectares (397,831 acres).
About half of the provinces of Alberta and Sasketchewan were in “extreme” fire danger on Sunday, Environment Canada, the country’s weather service, said.
The inferno could become the costliest natural disaster in Canada’s history.
As firefighters battling the blaze finally catch a break in the weather, with cooler temperatures and reduced winds.
Charred vehicles are pictured in the Beacon Hill neighbourhood of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, May 9, 2016 after wildfires forced the evacuation of the town. “The most hard are the ones we haven’t been to yet which will be down south of Fort McMurray where the fire actually went across the plants”, Williams said, adding that the sites were not normally affected by this type of fire but companies needed to check.
“There will be some dramatic images coming from media over the next couple of days”, she said.
The fire’s massive size has prompted some officials to say that rain would be necessary to fully extinguish it, as much of Alberta is tinder-box dry after a mild winter and warm spring.
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But the wider picture was more optimistic as Fire Chief Darby Allen said 85 percent of Canada’s main oil-sands city remains intact, including the downtown district.
