Some 100,000 residents and oil workers had been evacuated from Fort McMurray and its surroundings two weeks ago.
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Some oil sands operations directly north of the city remained shuttered, although firefighters held the blaze back from Suncor Energy and Syncrude Canada facilities on Wednesday. The order was issued because of the “unpredictable nature” of the fire and the fact that those camps could be isolated if the road was jeopardized, said Scott Long, executive director of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency.
In one encouraging sign for producers, cogeneration electric plants around Fort McMurray increased their output overnight with the restart of Suncor’s Firebag units, the operator of the province’s power grid said on Wednesday.
“We expect the [fire] to move east towards Suncor’s facility, Northlands sawmill and potentially towards northern portions of Fort McMurray”, said Chad Morrison, senior wildfire manager.
She said hazardous areas within the community must also be made secure and local government must be re-established.
With thousands of structures already destroyed in Alberta, Saskatchewan authorities now say the fire is almost five kilometres away from the provincial boundary and will likely keep burning eastward.
The devastated neighborhood of Beacon Hill is shown in wildfire-ravaged Fort McMurray, Alberta.
“With active fires still in the area, there is now no access to Blacksand Lodge or other lodges along Aostra Road”, Horizon North said.
High winds have spurred the quickly spreading wildfire as tinder-dry conditions persist in the region.
Canada’s largest petroleum company, Suncor, was forced to shutter its oil operations nearly immediately after getting them back up and running. And she said the city will not be suitable for everyone including people with breathing problems, late-term pregnant women and those undergoing cancer treatment. However, the facilities used to process bitumen are surrounded by wide barriers of cleared firebreak and gravel, and employ their own firefighting crews.
Thousands of oil sands workers have fled the camps and oil sands operations.
The over 80,000 residents that have been evacuated from Fort McMurray are entering their third week away from home after being forced out due to the raging wildfire on May 3.
“This poses a serious risk to first responders and recovery workers in the area, and so it has the potential to stall recovery efforts”, Premier Notley said at a news conference.
An assessment of the damage in the city found most of its structures – 89 percent – are “safe to occupy”, according to Notley.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police responded by closing Highway 63 north of Fort McMurray – the main route in and out of the oil patch.
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“Suncor has enhanced fire mitigation and protection around all of its facilities”, said the release.
