Residents Evacuated as Fires Threaten Canada Oil Sands Town

A fire that forced the evacuation of the Canadian oil sands city of Fort McMurray, Alberta, destroyed 80 percent of the homes in one neighborhood and extensively damaged property in a number of others, and officials warned it could get worse Wednesday.

More than 80,000 residents were ordered to flee as flames moved into the city, destroying whole neighborhoods. No injuries have been reported.

An overnight update from the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo said the Beacon Hill suburb in the south end has suffered the most damage from flames with 80 percent of the homes lost. A dozen trailers on one street in the neighborhood of Timberlea have gone up in flames, with serious losses reported in the Abasand and Waterways suburbs. Some homes have been lost in four other neighborhoods.

Fire chief Darby Allen told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. on Wednesday that parts of wooded areas of the city are still burning but no structures were currently on fire. But Allen said he’s worried about the plumes of smoke he sees outside his window and worried about the wind and its direction. “It could be even more devastating unfortunately,” he said.

Firefighters were working to protect critical infrastructure, including the only bridge across the Athabasca River and Highway 63, the only route to the city from the south.

Forestry manager Bernie Schmitte told reporters overnight that there was still danger from “very high temperatures, low relative humidities and some strong winds.”

Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said in a statement Wednesday he is watching the situation with “great concern” and said “situation is fluid and evolving rapidly.” He noted the federal government is monitoring the situation carefully, including the military.

Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan, in a conference call from Germany early Wednesday, confirmed a formal request for assistance has been received from the Alberta government. What form that will take — at least on the military side — is still being determined and they are expecting to hear soon about the kind of equipment and personnel required.

“We’re making all assets available, whatever the province and the emergency operations center assesses that they need,” he said.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley called it the biggest evacuation in the history of the province. Residents were in a state of panic.

Fort McMurray is the heart of Canada’s oil sands region. The Alberta oil sands are the third largest reserves of oil in the world behind Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Most oil sands projects are well north of the community, while the worst of the flames were on the city’s south side.

“We appreciate that some of you have lost properties. We have people working here right now that have lost property, too,” Allen said.

Suncor, the largest oil sands operator, said it is reducing production at its regional facility – about 15 miles north of the city – so as “to allow employees and their families to get to safety.”

The blaze had burned since Sunday and seemed on its way to being neutralized Tuesday morning, but it overwhelmed firefighters when winds shifted quickly and drastically in the mid-afternoon to the southwest of the city.

Pictures and video on social media depicted a hellish scene of fire jumping roads and burning debris pitched into the paths of cars as frantic residents, lined up bumper to bumper, scrambled and fumbled to find their way through the thick grey haze.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted that he spoke with Notley and said the federal government stands ready to help. He urged residents to follow evacuation orders.

As the afternoon wore on and the fire intensified, more and more sections of the city were ordered evacuated until the entire community was ordered out after 6 p.m.

Oil sands work camps were being pressed into service to house evacuees as the raging wildfire emptied the city.

Officials were also evacuating non-essential staff at Suncor’s base plant. It is 18 miles away and one of the closest facilities to the city. Spokesman Paul Newmarch said evacuees were moving into the plant’s work camps.