Alberta fire expected to rage for months
LAC LA BICHE: The images are ones of devastation — scorched homes, virtually whole neighbourhoods burned to the ground. And Canadian officials say they expect to fight the massive wildfire that has destroyed large parts of Alberta’s oil sands town for months.
There’s fear the growing wildfire could double in size and reach a major oil sands mine and even the neighbouring province of Saskatchewan.
The Alberta government said the massive blaze in the province, which already covers more than 2,000 hectares, about 2,000 sq km, will continue to grow because of high temperatures, dry conditions and high winds. Chad Morrison of Alberta Wildfire said it’s not uncommon to fight such an inferno in forested areas for months.
“In no way is this fire under control,” Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said.
Ms Notley said about 12,000 evacuees have been airlifted from oil sands mine air fields over the past two days and about 7,000 have left in highway convoys escorted by police. She said the goal was to have the evacuation from northern work camps completed by yesterday.
The fire could reach the edges of the Suncor oil sands facility, about 25km north of Ft McMurray. Non-essential staff have been leaving and efforts to protect the site were under way.
Ms Notley, however, said that the facility was highly resilient to forest fires. Oil sands mines are cleared and have no vegetation.
Mr Morrison said the fire wasn’t expected to reach the oil sands mines north of Suncor.
The fire and mass evacuation has forced a quarter or more of Canada’s oil output offline and was expected to affect an economy already hurt by the fall in the price of oil. The Alberta oil sands have the thirdlargest reserves of oil in the world behind Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Its workers largely live in Ft McMurray where some neighbourhoods have been destroyed.
Police said many parts of smoke-filled Ft McMurray are burnt and visibility is low. Officers wore masks as they checked homes to make sure everyone was out.
More than 80,000 people have left Ft McMurray in the heart of Canada’ oil sands, where the fire has torched 1,600 homes and other buildings. Gas has been turned off, the power grid is damaged and water is not drinkable. Officials said there is no timeline to return residents to the city, but the Alberta government has begun preliminary planning, although it stresses fighting the fire is still the first priority.
About 25,000 evacuees moved north in the hours after Tuesday’s mandatory evacuation, where oil sands work camps that usually house employees were used to house evacuees. Officials are moving everyone south where it is safer. Syncrude, a major oil sands mining company, also shut down operations and left.
The company said in a statement that while there is no imminent threat from fire, smoke has reached its Mildred Lake site.
Lac La Biche, Alberta, normally a sleepy town of 2,500 about 175km south of Ft McMurray, was helping thousands of evacuees, providing a place to sleep, food, donated clothes and even shelter for their pets.
Jihad Moghrabi, a spokesman for Lac La Biche county, said that 4,400 evacuees have come through The Bold Centre, a sports facility in town.
At the centre, tables were piled with clothes, towels and other items.
The centre was offering three free meals a day and other services, including mental health services. A kennel housed people’s pets on site.
Philip Wylie, wife Suda and 13-monthold daughter Phaedra were among those staying at the centre after fleeing their apartment in Ft McMurray on Tuesday.
“Trees were blowing up against our vehicles,” Mr Wylie said of the caravan drive out of town. “We don’t know what we’re going to go back to, or when we can go back.”