80,000 flee as wildfire devastates Canada city
Print Edition
A WILDFIRE has forced the evacuation of the Canadian city of Fort McMurray, where 80 percent of the homes in one neighborhood were destroyed and those in several others were badly damaged, officials said yesterday.
More than 80,000 people were ordered to flee as flames moved into the Alberta city that sits in the middle of the wilderness, destroying whole neighborhoods. No injuries have been reported.
Unseasonably hot temperatures combined with dry conditions transformed the boreal forest in much of Alberta into a tinder box. The wildfire threat ranged from very high to extreme in different areas.
The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo said the Beacon Hill suburb in the south end had suffered the most damage from flames with 80 percent of the homes lost. A dozen trailers on one street in the neighborhood of Timberlea went up in flames, with serious losses reported in the Abasand and Waterways suburbs, it said.
Fire chief Darby Allen told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp yesterday that parts of wooded areas of the city were still burning, but no structures were on fire.
He said he was worried about the plumes of smoke outside his window and about the wind and its direction.
“It could be even more devastating,” he said.
Firefighters were working to protect critical infrastructure, including the only bridge across the Athabasca River and Highway 63, the only major route to the city in or out.
Forestry manager Bernie Schmitte told reporters 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 he was watching the situation with “great concern” and said the “situation is fluid and evolving rapidly.”
Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan, in a conference call from Germany early yesterday, confirmed a formal request for assistance had been received from the Alberta government.
“We’re making all assets available,” he said.
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley called it the biggest evacuation in the history of the province. Residents were panicked.
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