Evacuation alert in some Alberta areas

FORT MCMURRAY, ALTA. Fort McMurray’s mayor took to social media to deliver a pep talk Saturday as the northern Alberta city once again faces the threat of an out-ofcontrol wildfire that’s spurring memories of a massive blaze that destroyed homes and buildings eight years ago.

“I know everyone’s feeling unsettled and stressed right now. Our community knows all too well how this feels, but our past experience also means we are very well prepared to handle whatever comes our way,” Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo Mayor Sandy Bowman said on Facebook on Saturday.

Thousands of residents of Fort McMurray and the nearby community of Saprae Creek remained on an evacuation alert as a wildfire burned approximately 16 kilometres southwest of the city, meaning they should be ready to evacuate at short notice.

That alert notice, originally issued Friday, was expanded Saturday afternoon to also include the Gregoire Lake Estates neighbourhood south of Fort McMurray, as well as Fort McMurray First Nation #468, Anzac and Rickards Landing Industrial Park.

Alberta Wildfire said the blaze had grown to almost 1,500 hectares in size by Saturday afternoon. While the agency said fire activity was expected to pick up in the afternoon as winds increased, the municipality said those winds appeared to be pushing the flames farther south, rather than towards the city.

Fort McMurray has a population of about 68,000. A wildfire there in 2016 destroyed roughly 2,400 homes.