The mass evacuation of the city caused huge traffic jams in the highways especially around gas stations where drivers had to wait for hours to fill their tanks.
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Fort McMurray lies in the heart of Canada’s oil sands region, the third-largest proven crude oil reserve in the world.
Oil companies operating in the Fort McMurray area have announced that they will be curtailing production to allow employees “to get to safety”.
Authorities ordered an evacuation center south of Fort McMurray to move residents as weather patterns shifted the blaze toward them Wednesday night, CBC News reported.
Marilou Wood fights back tears as husband Jim Wood fills up his vehicle with gas after fleeing forest fires in Fort McMurray.
A wall of fire rages outside of Fort McMurray, Alta.
“Jean said the disaster is the latest in a series of economic challenges the community has faced in recent months”.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted that he spoke with Notley and said the federal government stands ready to help. They have set up the Alberta Fires Emergency Appeal, on their website, and a toll-free number: 1-888-350-6070.
Up until this week, Alberta’s largest evacuation had occurred in 2011 when 7,000 people were forced out of Slave Lake by wildfires that raged for almost two days, destroying a third of the town.
Scheffer added: “We all grabbed our bags and started running, taking off on foot”.
Trudeau noted climate change is contributing to an increase in extreme weather and fires but said it’s hard to establish a direct link.
Ms Notley praised Albertans for helping neighbours in need.
“The fire was jumping across the freeway and came face to face you know with just a wall of fire; it was pretty terrifying you could feel the heat in the auto just starting to singe you”, he said. “This is a very explosive situation”, warned Bernie Schmitte of Alberta’s agriculture and forestry ministry.
The latest update said that the Waterways district had lost 90 percent of its homes, with 70 percent lost in Beacon Hill and 50 percent in Abasand. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said a total of about 1,600 structures have been destroyed in Fort McMurray.”There are certainly areas within the city that have not been burned, but this fire will look for them and it will find them and it will want to take them”.
The survivors of the Fort McMurray flames are happy to be back in the Maritimes, but also worry about what will happen to their workplaces or second homes out west.
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Canada’s oil and gas industry has cut at least 40,000 direct jobs in the a year ago and a half, and more layoffs are expected as the price of crude has been slow to bounce back.
