Wildfire Forces Mass Evacuation In Canada’s Fort McMurray
MEP: A huge wildfire IN the Canadian city of Fort McMurray has forced about 60,000 people to evacuate late on Tuesday.
Fort McMurray is an urban service area with a population of about 80,000 people.
Alberta Province emergency services said that the entire city “is under a mandatory evacuation order” as the northern edge of the fire was “growing rapidly.”
The evacuation from Fort McMurray – which lies in an oil sands region – is the biggest in Alberta’s history.
Local authorities have advised residents to evacuate to the Noralta Lodge north of the city because outgoing Highway 36 has been partially blocked due to the fire.
A number of gas stations exploded and several homes were burned down, according to local media.
The fire first was detected on Sunday to the southwest of the residential area. It is believed to have covered more than 2,656 hectares (6,540 acres) as of late Monday. Although, more than 90 firefighters have been deployed to battle the fire, the situation on Tuesday has worsened due to strong winds. On Tuesday afternoon the fire breached Highway 63, the main road out of the city.
“If you just walk outside, you feel it (ash) falling on you. You see it floating in the air. I can take a broom and brush it off my deck,” resident Mark Durocher was quoted as saying by the Globe and Mail.
Alberta Premier, Rachel Notley, said officials were doing all they could to ensure people’s safety and said they were looking into the possibility of an airlift for residents with medical issues.
“I know that it’s a very scary time,” Notley told a press conference.
“Our focus is completely and entirely right now on ensuring the safety of people, of getting them out of the city and ensuring that they are safe and secure.”
