Canadian wildfire threatens entire city

[waltky]

Entire population of Ft. McMurray evacuated...
:shocked:
Canadian wildfire forces evacuation order for entire city
The Canadian province of Alberta raced to evacuate the entire population of Fort McMurray where an uncontrolled wildfire was taking hold in the heart of the country's oil sands region, with dry winds forecast for Wednesday that could fuel the blaze.


Alberta appealed for military help to battle the fire and airlift people from the smoke-filled city after authorities issued a mandatory evacuation order for 80,000, but officials said army and air force assistance would take two days to arrive. About 44,000 people were estimated to be on the roads, fleeing the city, while approximately 8,000 had reached an evacuation center outside Fort McMurray, officials said. "Right now, we have fire burning within the city," Chief Darby Allen of Fort McMurray's fire department told reporters. "It is impacting communities as we speak. Homes are on fire as we speak." The 2,650-hectare (6,540-acre) fire, which was discovered on Sunday, shifted aggressively with the wind on Tuesday to breach city limits. The blaze closed off the main southern exit from the city, Highway 93, prompting many residents to head north towards the oil sands camps.

The southern route eventually reopened but traffic was quickly gridlocked in both directions. Gas stations throughout the area were out of fuel and police were patrolling the highway with gas cans. "This is the biggest evacuation we have seen in the history of the province," Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said at a news conference, adding that there were no known casualties. "We need to find more camps. We have secured spaces for about 6,000 people. We know we need to find more and that work is under way," Notley said. Alberta is much drier than normal for this time of year, strengthening prospects for a long and expensive wildfire season, in the wake of a mild winter with lower-than-average snowfall and a warm spring.


http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160504&t=2&i=1135669455&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=644&pl=429&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC4303Y
Wildfire is worsening along highway 63 Fort McMurray, Alberta Canada

Authorities expect increased winds on Wednesday that will make it harder to fight the fire. "Tomorrow is expected to be a more intense burning day," said Bruce Mayer, assistant deputy minister of Alberta's Forestry Division. Suncor Energy, whose oil sands operations are closest to the city, said its main plant, 25 km (16 miles) north of Fort McMurray, was safe, but it was reducing crude production in the region to allow employees and families to get to safety. Suncor said evacuees were welcome at its Firebag oil sands facility, while Canadian Natural Resources Ltd said it was working to ensure any affected CNRL workers and their families could use its camps.


http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160504&t=2&i=1135669457&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=644&pl=429&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC43040
Flames rise in Industrial area south Fort McMurray, Alberta Canada

Shell Canada also said it would open its oil sands camp to evacuees and was looking to use its airstrip to fly out non-essential staff and accommodate displaced residents. A number of flights from Fort McMurray airport were canceled and the airport advised passengers to check with their airlines for updates. The blaze started southwest of Fort McMurray and spread rapidly to the outskirts of the city, located about 430 km (267 miles) northeast of Alberta's capital, Edmonton. Radio stations were forced off the air as staff left the downtown core. "There's lots of smoke, it's quite bad and hanging over the city," one resident, Nick Sanders, told Reuters as he packed up to leave downtown. "Where there are trees in the distance you can see the fire."

MORE (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-wildfire-fortmcmurray-idUSKCN0XU2D8)

See also:

Airborne Fire Fighters Gather for Training at Peterson Air Force Base
May 03, 2016 | Two enormous wildfires made Pikes Peak region residents grew painfully aware of what C-130 aircraft look like.


During the 2012 Waldo Canyon and 2013 Black Forest fires, the large, gray, bloated planes poured thousands of gallons of red fire retardant over the Pike National Forest and through wooded, residential areas in northern El Paso County. "It's a very iconic picture," said Ann Skarban, a spokeswoman for the 302nd Airlift Wing at Peterson Air Force Base. On Friday, Skarban and a group of Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System crewmen gathered in a hangar near one of the humongous C-130s. They shared stories of past missions, explained how the MAFFS works and prepared for their annual training. The group of Air Force reservists will head to Channel Islands Air National Guard Station in California on Tuesday for a week of instruction.

Brad Ross, an instructor and MAFFS crewman for the 302nd, said each MAFFS unit usually does its own training. But this year, all four of the Airlift Wings will be in California together. "Typically we're on our own," Ross said. "But it's good to get together and learn things from the other units and pass on our experiences." Along with the 302nd that calls Peterson home, there are units based in Wyoming, North Carolina and California. MAFFS missions are quite quick, Ross said. The aircraft fly for about 10 minutes to meet up with a lead plan. They receive their orders on where to drop the retardant that is mostly water with ammonium sulfate, a jelling agent and red dye mixed in. The six-person crew finds the drop location and disperses 3,000 gallons of retardant in as little as five seconds before returning to base for a reload.


http://images.military.com/media/news/equipment/c130-firefighting-tanker600x400.jpg
An Air Force C-130 sprays fire retardant over a wildfire area

Ross has been flying MAFFS missions for nine years. He said the C-130s' and their crews' main job is to give support to "boots on the ground," reinforcing fire lines made by firefighters carrying picks, axes and shovels. Ross said his job has taken him all over the West on missions, but noted that he was privileged to man a C-130 that fought the more than 14,000-acre Black Forest Fire in 2013. "It's very rewarding," the 10-year resident of the Colorado Springs area said of all his missions. "It's even more poignant when it's in your own backyard." When the crew returns from training and waits for its orders to deploy, it hopes that the 2016 wildfire season will be a slow one.

Chris Barth, a U.S. Forest Service representative, was also at Peterson on Friday, talking about the 43-year partnership between the USFS and the MAFFS units. Barth, who works out of Lakewood and has been involved in wildland-fire suppression for more than 20 years, also spoke about this year's fire season in Colorado. "The outlook is going to be average to slightly below average," Barth said, noting that 2016 could see lower fire danger than most years. He said if there is one area that fire officials will be watching extra closely, it is be the southwest part of the state where he said temperatures are predicted to be hot this summer. Barth also said people living in densely populated areas like Colorado Springs and along the entire Front Range need to always be mindful of mitigation and actions that could spark a fire, especially in the Wildland Urban Interface. "When you have more people, there are just more people out using public lands," he said. "But we don't know where the fires are going to be."

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/05/03/airborne-fire-fighters-gather-training-peterson-air-force-base.html

[waltky]

'Perfect storm' boosted Alberta fires...
:shocked:
'Perfect storm' of El Niño and warming boosted Alberta fires
Thu, 05 May 2016 - The El Niño weather phenomenon and ongoing climate change have both contributed to the devastating Alberta wildfires, according to experts.


The weather phenomenon has caused much drier conditions than normal, leading to a massive increase in the number of fires in the province. Alberta has had 330 wildfires already this year, more than double the recent annual average. Global warming has also seen wildfire seasons lengthen considerably since 1979, according to studies.

Dry winter

Alberta and much of western Canada experienced a serious drought last year. So great was the impact on farmers, the province declared an agricultural emergency. The dry conditions continued through the winter with the western part of Canada then feeling the impact of El Niño. Scientists say the current El Niño event is one of the strongest on record, with the effects felt all over the world including a reduced monsoon in India and droughts in parts of Africa. "We've had an incredibly dry winter, we didn't have enough snow pack," said Prof Judith Kulig from the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, who believes a "perfect storm" of factors, including El Niño, has come together to cause the huge fire. "This year the fire season officially began March 1st, last year it was March 15th. These are significant changes when the fire season used to begin in May and now begins in March." That fingerprint of El Niño saw Fort McMurray record a temperature of 32.6C earlier this week, which is significantly above the normal high temperature for early May of around 14C.

Not local but global

Many researchers believe that El Niño was not the only factor increasing the likelihood of a major fire in Alberta. They point to the bigger global picture of rising temperatures, which in the first four months of this year are running more than 1C above the long-term average. In January a Canadian study suggested that warming would lead to a "higher frequency of extreme fire weather days" across the country. The author of that paper, Dr Mike Flannigan from the University of Alberta, seems in little doubt that climate change was at least partly responsible for the outbreak around Fort McMurray. "This is consistent with what we expect from human-caused climate change affecting our fire regime," he told reporters.


http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/142C6/production/_89603628_anom2m_pastmth_ntham.jpg
Temperature map

A number of research papers have highlighted the fact that warming is leading to an increase in wildfire risk. Studies have also shown that northern latitudes are feeling those impacts more strongly. "Some of the changes can be ascribed to improvements in reporting but there are datasets which show the fire season has lengthened," said Prof Martin Wooster, from King's College, London. "There have been papers that have shown that not only in theory the conditions are there for longer, but also the actual area of burn has increased over the past half century." "That sort of thing is more likely to be able to be said in Canada than in other places."

One factor that is often overlooked in the race to discover the causes of natural disasters is demography. Just before the last major El Niño in 1997, the population of Fort McMurray was just over 30,000. The last census indicated it was over 60,000. More people means not just a greater impact when fires occur, it also suggests the chances of one starting are increased. "There is this thing called the wild land urban interface, which is where people's homes get increasingly close to environments still undeveloped - and fire is able to come out of these 'natural' areas," Prof Wooster said. "And if you get more people you are more likely to get ignitions."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-36212145

See also:

New evacuations around fire-struck Fort McMurray in energy heartland
Thu May 5, 2016 - A massive wildfire near Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada, that has grown to five times its initial size has spread south, forcing more evacuations on Thursday after 88,000 people fled the city in the nation's energy heartland.


The uncontrolled fire, which has consumed swathes of the city, has shut oil production in the area, driving up global oil prices and affecting projects and pipelines across the heavily forested region. Map of the Fort McMurray fire - (tmsnrt.rs/1TtvIOD) Officials issued mandatory evacuation orders for the Anzac, Gregoire Lake Estates and Fort McMurray First Nation communities, located about 50 km (31 miles) south of the battered city of Fort McMurray, which was evacuated Tuesday. At least 640,000 barrels per day of crude output is offline, according to Reuters calculations, roughly 16 percent of Canada's crude production. The outage is expected to climb as major players in the region cut production. [O/R] Conoco Phillips said it was evacuating its small 30,000-barrel-per-day Surmont project, south of Fort McMurray.

The winds also pushed flames toward the local airport, with web cam images showing black smoke engulfing the airport late on Wednesday evening. Officials confirmed that a hotel north of main terminal had caught fire. Officials on the scene were forced to evacuate a make-shift emergency operations center for the second time in less than a day, and the spreading flames threatened community centers feeding and housing evacuees from Fort McMurray. Fire has intermittently blocked the only route south toward major cities, so thousands of evacuees drove north toward oil sands facilities and a few small settlements but no route out. The forecast has called for cooler temperatures and a possibility of rain, offering hope that controlling the blaze could become easier. Authorities said there had been no known casualties from the blaze itself, but fatalities were reported in at least one vehicle crash along the evacuation route.


http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160504&t=2&i=1135810187&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=644&pl=429&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC431O0
A helicopter flies into thick smoke while battling a major forest fire outside of Fort McMurray

Thousands bunked down for the night on Wednesday in arenas, hockey rinks and oil work camps that were often short of fuel and food. Fire also threatened the airport, and web cam images showed black smoke engulfing the area late Wednesday evening. Officials confirmed that a hotel north of the main terminal had caught fire, but as the sun rose on Thursday new images of the airport showed no obvious damage. Firefighters have been unable to stop the wildfire, which has charred 18,500 acres (7,500 hectares) since it erupted on Sunday and exploded in ferocity. "It is a possibility that we may lose a large portion of the town," Scott Long, an official with Alberta's emergency management agency said. Hot, dry, windy weather has made the massive wildfire all but impossible to control. The entire city of Fort McMurray was ordered to evacuate on Tuesday, and some 1,600 structures have been destroyed, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said on Wednesday.

Temperatures hit 31 degrees Celsius (88°F) on Wednesday. But on Thursday, Environment Canada forecast a high of 19 degrees Celsius (66°F) with a 30 percent chance of rain. The average high in the area is 15 degrees Celsius. A government forecast map of potential fire intensity still showed some areas around Fort McMurray at class 6, the highest level. Late Wednesday, the regional government fielded questions on Twitter from frightened evacuees north of the city, asking when they would be able to drive south, and whether areas north of the city were safe. "We haven't forgotten about you and you're safe," said the government on Twitter.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-wildfire-fortmcmurray-idUSKCN0XU2D8

[waltky]

Canadian fire: Evacuation convoy halted...
:shocked:
Canada wildfire grows to apocalyptic proportions
Saturday 7th May, 2016 – The wildfires that were kindled in Fort McMurray, Alberta have reportedly further grown into a leviathan blaze.


According to reports, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley confirmed on May 5 that the blaze has consumed 85,000 hectares, an area larger than New York City, up from just 10,000 hectares just the day before. Reports added that Canadian officials are making arrangement to move more evacuees even further from their current refuges in a mass highway convoy.

Further, 8,000 people were reportedly airlifted from near the blaze and rescue operations continued on May 6 as well, bringing the total count of evacuees to more than 80,000. A state of emergency has reportedly been declared in Alberta, and 1,100 firefighters, 145 helicopters, 138 pieces of heavy equipment and 22 air tankers were fighting 49 fires.


http://cdn.bignewsnetwork.com/uni1462560425.jpg

Reports added, that in spite of the attempts to control the blaze, Alberta’s manager of wildfire prevention, Chad Morrison, said their hopes were pinned on rainfall. He stated that the fire “is going to continue to push through these dry conditions until we actually get some significant rain.”

Further, officials claimed that the fires may grow in the coming days, but has also been moving away from the community of Fort McMurray and surrounding areas. Videos of the wildfire are reportedly being circulated on the Internet, with many people, including evacuees, describing it as “absolutely apocalyptic.”

http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/243843319/canada-wildfire-grows-to-apocalyptic-proportions

See also:

Canadian fire: Evacuation convoy halted due to huge flames
Fri, 06 May 2016 - The only evacuation convoy leaving the Canadian city of Fort McMurray has been suspended due to 200ft (61m) flames flanking the road, officials say.


The police-escorted convoy of 1,500 vehicles was due to pass by the southern part of the city en route to Edmonton and Calgary. Parts of the city in the province of Alberta have been left devastated after a wildfire struck earlier this week. Officials had said it would take four days to to move all the evacuees.

In a statement released Friday afternoon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called upon Canadians to donate to charities assisting relief efforts. "I would once again like to thank the many first responders who are working tirelessly, day and night, to fight this fire," Mr Trudeau said. "To those who have lost so much: we are resilient, we are Canadians, and we will make it through this difficult time, together."

Weather forecasters predict a 40% chance of rain this coming Sunday, which may help to slow the fire's spread. More than 1,000 fire fighters and 150 helicopters, 295 pieces of heavy equipment and 27 aircraft tankers have been deployed, according to the Canadian government. But Chad Morrison, Alberta's manager of wildfire prevention, said that what they really need is rain. "We have not seen rain in this area for the last two months of significance," Mr Morrison said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-36232856

[waltky]

Convoy gets out of fire zone...
:cool2:
Convoy leads Canada fire evacuees through burning city to safety
Fri May 6, 2016 - Alberta Convoys of evacuees stranded by a wildfire raging in and around the Canadian oil town of Fort McMurray made their way on Friday through the heart of the devastation on the only highway out of the region, as officials warned that the blaze could soon double in size.


Wind-whipped flames roaring through forests and brush parched by a spring heat wave have engulfed nearly 250,000 acres (101,000 hectares) in western Canada's energy heartland since erupting on Sunday. The blaze, the largest of 40 wildfires burning across the province of Alberta, has forced some 88,000 residents, the entire population of Fort McMurray, to flee for safety, and has threatened two oil sands production sites south of the city. At least 10 oil sand operators have cut production due to evacuations and other emergency measures that complicated delivery of petroleum by rail, pipeline and highway.


http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160507&t=2&i=1136175126&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=644&pl=429&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC45173
A flock of birds fly as smoke billows from the Fort McMurray wildfires in Kinosis, Alberta

With winds on Friday pushing the fire's leading edge to the northeast, away from town and into open timber, authorities said the blaze was expected to rapidly expand its footprint even as the threat to populated areas waned. Chad Morrison, an official with the Alberta government wildfire unit, told reporters in the provincial capital Edmonton, about 270 miles (430 km) to the south, the blaze was likely to double in size by late on Saturday, the end of its first week. The full extent of property losses in Fort McMurray, has yet to be determined, but authorities said some 1,600 structures were believed to have been destroyed. One analyst estimated insurance losses could exceed C$9 billion ($7 billion).


http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160507&t=2&i=1136175116&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=644&pl=429&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC450O4
Flames rise in Industrial area south Fort McMurray, Alberta Canada May 3, 2016.

Earlier in the week most evacuees headed south by car on Alberta Highway 63, the only land route out of the area, in a slow-moving exodus that left many temporarily stranded on the roadside as they ran out of gasoline. But other residents who initially sought shelter in oil camps and settlements north of the city found themselves cut off in overcrowded conditions. They were forced on Friday to retrace their route back through Fort McMurray on Highway 63 as flames continued to spread. With parts of the city still in flames, evacuees in some 1,500 vehicles began making the 30-mile (50-km) trip at 4 a.m. in groups of 50 cars.

MORE (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-wildfire-fortmcmurray-idUSKCN0XX16S)

[waltky]

Canada wildfire growing as weather heats up, escape convoy underway...
:shocked:
Canada wildfire: Alberta blaze threatens neighbouring province
Sat, 07 May 2016 - A massive, out-of-control wildfire raging in the Canadian province of Alberta is growing rapidly and could spread to neighbouring Saskatchewan, officials say.


Hot, dry and windy conditions are hampering efforts by hundreds of firefighters to tackle the blaze. The flames have already caused the evacuation of 80,000 people from the oil city of Fort McMurray. Thousands are still stuck north of the city but the authorities hope to finish their evacuation by the end of the day. "The Fort McMurray wildfire is still burning out of control," said Alberta Premier Rachel Notley. "Temperatures are forecast to be in the high twenties with winds gusting up to 40km/h (25mph). In these conditions officials tell us the fire may double in size in the forested areas today."


http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/12C5C/production/_89629867_89629866.jpg
A convoy drives past wildfire in Canada

At more than 1,500 sq km (579 sq mi), the blaze already covers an area the size of London. There is the possibility of rain on Sunday and Monday, and the fire is spreading into remote wooded areas minimising its danger. Earlier this week, most evacuees headed south but some fled north, sheltering in work camps beyond Fort McMurray. Thousands have since been shuttled out by road and air, with small convoys passing through the fire-ravaged city on Saturday. Ms Notley said the goal was to complete the evacuations by the end of Saturday. The blaze has ruined entire neighbourhoods, with residents warned it could be some time before they could return.


http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/news/special/2016/newsspec_14247/img/canada_forest_fire_before_624.jpg?v=1.0
3 May 2016

Despite the mandatory order to leave, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have said they found an elderly man and a family of five in Fort McMurray. They were led to safety. Some 1,600 homes and other buildings have been lost but no deaths or injuries have been reported. Fort McMurray is in the heart of Canada's oil sands country, and the region has the world's third-largest reserves of oil. As much as a quarter of the country's oil production has been halted by the fire, raising concerns about the effect on the Canadian economy. There are warnings the blaze could burn to the edge of a facility run by Suncor Energy but officials said the site is highly resistant to fire damage.


http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/news/special/2016/newsspec_14247/img/canada_forest_fire_after_624.jpg?v=1.0
4 May 2016

Local DJ Chris Byrne was allowed back into Fort McMurray to check on the damage. He told BBC Newshour what he found. "Downtown for the most part is still for the most part intact, I think only one building was affected. "Where I live, in the north end of town, there really wasn't much damage. There are still people living there that just refused to evacuate. "The worst parts of the city are exactly how people imagined a wildfire going through a town would look like. "Complete blocks [are] levelled and charred and it looks like a horrific scene."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-36238076

See also:

Canada wildfire explodes in size, evacuees urged to go to cities
Sunday 8th May, 2016 - A raging Canadian wildfire grew explosively on Saturday as hot, dry winds pushed the blaze across the energy heartland of Alberta and smoke forced the shutdown of a major oil sands project.


The fire that has already prompted the evacuation of all 88,000 people who lived the city of Fort McMurray was set to double in size on Saturday, the seventh day of what is expected to be the costliest natural disaster in Canada's history. Provincial officials praised evacuees for their patience and, in a sign of how long the crisis could drag on, said the cities of Calgary and Edmonton, many hundreds of miles to the south, were the best place to receive longer-term support such as medical care and emergency payments. Alberta's Municipal Affairs Minister Danielle Larivee said the fire was still out of control and warned residents not to try to return. "I know ... how very hard it is to be patient and how difficult it is not to know so many things. I know what it's like to wonder what is left from your home," she told a briefing in the provincial capital Edmonton.

Firefighting officials said the inferno, pushed northeast towards neighboring Saskatchewan by high winds and fueled by tinder-dry forests, was set to double in size to 300,000 hectares by the end of Saturday. Cooler weather forecast for Sunday could then help keep the blaze under control, said Chad Morrison, manager of Alberta's wildfire prevention, predicting that without substantial rain the fire might easily last for months. The full extent of property losses in Fort McMurray has yet to be determined, but one analyst estimated insurance losses could exceed CUS$9 billion (US$7 billion). More than 500 firefighters are battling the blaze in and around Fort McMurray, along with 15 helicopters and 14 air tankers, the Alberta government said.

Within Fort McMurray, visibility is often less than 30 feet (9 meters) due to the smoke, making it still very dangerous to circulate in the city, said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Firefighter Adam Bugden said he and his colleagues were working up to 36 hours at a time without sleep. "We all have busted-up feet and hands ... we're hauling hose, we're going up and down hills, we're fighting 40-feet flames," he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. Syncrude oil sands project said it would shut down its northern Alberta operation and remove all personnel from the site due to smoke. There was no imminent threat from the fire. Officials said the fire could burn to the edge of a project operated by Suncor Energy Inc, but noted the site was highly resilient to fire damage.

At least 10 oil sand operators have cut production due to evacuations and other emergency measures. About half of Canada's oil sands production capacity, or one million barrels per day (bpd), had been taken offline as of Friday, according to a Reuters estimate. Police escorted another convoy of evacuees out of the oil sands region north of Fort McMurray on Saturday, on a harrowing journey through burned-out parts of the city and billowing smoke. Around 25,000 residents who initially went north found themselves cut off in overcrowded conditions. Larivee said she hoped the entire group would have moved south by the end of Saturday. Entire neighborhoods were reduced to ruins, but most evacuees fled without knowing the fate of their own homes. The majority got away with few possessions, some forced to leave pets behind.

MORE (http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/canada-wildfire-growing-a/2765486.html)

[Dr. Who]

An unbelievable catastrophe. Expected to reach almost 600 square miles over this weekend. The only saving grace is that apart from Fort McMurray, the population is fairly sparse in that region. Nevertheless, the damage is incredible.

[valley ranch]

Thanks for posting this, hadn't had time to look into what was happening there.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We after having three years of drought are getting and extra helping of moisture.

[Dr. Who]

Thanks for posting this, hadn't had time to look into what was happening there.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We after having three years of drought are getting and extra helping of moisture.
Yes, but for the Grace of God...

[waltky]

Fort McMurray saved from worst of wildfire...
:huh:
Alberta PM says Fort McMurray saved from worst of wildfire
May 9,`16 -- At least two neighborhoods in this oil sands city were scenes of utter devastation with incinerated homes leveled to the ground from a wildfire that Fort McMurray's fire chief called a "beast ... a fire like I've never seen in my life."


But the wider picture was more optimistic as Fire Chief Darby Allen said 85 percent of Canada's main oil sands city remains intact, including the downtown district. Alberta's premier declared the city had been saved, adding that officials hope to provide a schedule within two weeks for thousands of evacuated residents to begin returning to their homes. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said about 2,400 homes and buildings were destroyed in the city, but firefighters managed to save 25,000 others, including the hospital, municipal buildings and every functioning school. "This city was surrounded by an ocean of fire only a few days ago but Fort McMurray and the surrounding communities have been saved and they will be rebuilt," Notley said.


http://hosted.ap.org/photos/6/6e1684ed509044559c1a1d0113b98897_0-big.jpg
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley speaks to members of the media at a fire station in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Monday, May 9, 2016. A break in the weather has officials optimistic they have reached a turning point on getting a handle on the massive wildfire

Notley got her first direct look at the devastation in Fort McMurray on Monday after cold temperatures and light rain had stabilized the massive wildfire to a point where officials could begin planning to get thousands of evacuated residents back. The break in the weather left officials optimistic they've reached a turning point on getting a handle on the massive wildfire. The temperature dipped to 45 degrees Fahrenheit (7 degrees Celsius) on Monday following a week where the region had unseasonably warm temperatures. Notley flew in Monday morning to meet with local officials and took a ground tour of the town before holding a news conference at the emergency center. "I was very much struck by the devastation of the fire. It was really quite overwhelming in some spots," Notley said. "But I will also say that I was struck by the proximity of that devastation to neighborhoods that were untouched."

More than 40 journalists were allowed into Fort McMurray on a bus escorted by police. The forest surrounding the road into town was still smoldering and there were abandoned cars. Only the sign remained at a Super 8 Motel and Denny's restaurant on the edge of town. The Beacon Hill neighborhood was a scene of utter devastation with homes burned down to their foundation. Allen said at one point the fire jumped across a road in Beacon Hill that is 15 to 20 feet (4.5 to 6 meters) wide. "It jumped that without thinking about it. This was a beast. It was an animal. It was a fire like I've never seen in my life," he said on the media bus. In the early stages of the fire he feared that as much as half the city could burn down "I just want to let the people know that we're in pretty good shape," he said. "Typical of the damaged areas you'll see structures that are completely gone and structures that are intact."

MORE (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CN_CANADA_WILDFIRE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-05-09-20-40-35)

See also:

James Taylor to donate money to fire-ravaged Fort McMurray
May. 9, 2016 - James Taylor is using his music to help people evacuated from a huge wildfire in Canada.


The "Carolina in My Mind" singer has turned two Alberta concerts next month into benefits. Proceeds from tickets to his shows in Calgary on June 7 and Edmonton on June 8 will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross to help victims of what Taylor says is a major national catastrophe that's just impossible to ignore. "It's really a part of human nature to respond to things like this by wanting to lend a hand if you can. You'd like to feel as though people would be there for you if you were in a similar situation," Taylor told The Associated Press by phone on Monday.


http://binaryapi.ap.org/5ed3fd896f7b449c81e8ca12245acb59/460x.jpg
Singer-songwriter James Taylor performs in concert at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa. Taylor is using his music to help people evacuated from a huge wildfire in Canada. The “Carolina in My Mind'' singer has made two Alberta concerts next month into benefits. He says proceeds from tickets to his shows in Calgary on June 7, 2016, and Edmonton on June 8 will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross.

Taylor says the idea came from conversations with his Canadian manager Sam Feldman as he arrived for a 15-concert tour of Canadian cities over the next month. He said the two shows would raise "at least a quarter of a million, maybe a $100,000 more than that." "Live Nation are donating their portion of the show ... the two buildings that the shows are in are donating their part to it," Taylor added. "It's building some momentum and we hope it encourages other people to volunteer." More than 80,000 residents of Fort McMurray have been displaced by the fires, which began last week. Taylor has frequently participated in fundraising events.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/b455336f920c4d408c5dc42d5f4f2811/taylor-give-concert-money-fire-ravaged-fort-mcmurray

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - don't be sendin' old shoes ya fished outta the garbage can...
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Unusable donations flood Canada's wildfire efforts
May 12, 2016 -- An outpouring of donated items is becoming a burden to relief workers dealing with the Canadian wildfire because they are unusable.


People are donating things such as used clothes, children's toys and old shoes. They aren't going to victims and instead are taking up space in an Edmonton warehouse. "We have items that are dirty or things that are just not usable at this time," volunteer coordinator Marissa McNabb told CTV Edmonton. "We have to see if it's in a state that we can actually get it donated. If not, then we do have to find a way to get rid of it."

In 2011, a massive fire triggered donated iterms that ended up in a Calgary landfill. "Most donations are really a great thing. But donations that are not needed are not cool because they pile up at ports and airports and parking lots ... and usually the people who move them are relief workers," said Juanita Rilling, director of the U.S. Center for International Disaster Information. The Edmonton Emergency Relief Services Society says it specifically needs medication, new pillows and new blankets.


http://cdnph.upi.com/sv/b/upi/UPI-3161463060260/2016/1/bec5aa5c33f9f24098a290fd33a450cf/Unusable-donations-flood-Canadas-wildfire-efforts.jpg

The Canadian Red Cross said monetary donations are the best way to support the relief efforts. As of Wednesday, the organization had collected $52.11 million. The Red Cross, which had registered 80,000 people, plans to give $600 to each adult and $300 to each child that evacuated. Also the federal government will give adults $1,250 each and children under the age of 18 will get $500 on debit cards.

Four distribution centers were set up across Alberta Province, and officials expect long lines. "Be assured that the funding will not run out," Premier Rachel Notley said at a news conference Wednesday. "There are enough debit cards for every eligible evacuee." More than 90,000 people were evacuated on May 3. The Fort McMurray wildfire covered approximately 566,000 acres by Wednesday night and was less than 20 miles from the Saskatchewan border. More oil plants in the area were returning to normal after a one-week shutdown.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2016/05/12/Unusable-donations-flood-Canadas-wildfire-efforts/3161463060260/?spt=sec&or=tn

[waltky]

Alberta wildfire continues its destruction...
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Alberta wildfire destroys oil sands work camp as thousands of staff evacuated
Tuesday 17 May 2016 - Situation worsens for oil production sites north of Fort McMurray, while explosions in city itself highlight uncertainty over when it will be safe to return


The wildfire raging through northern Alberta has swelled in size and surged north of Fort McMurray, consuming an evacuated oil sands camp on Tuesday and threatening several other facilities in the region. “It continues to burn out of control,” said Rachel Notley, the Alberta premier, one day after the shifting fire forced the evacuation of 8,000 non-essential staff from more than a dozen camps and sites in the oil sands region. Tinder-dry conditions and temperatures in the mid-20s Celsius helped fuel the wildfire’s growth to 355,000 hectares on Tuesday – a significant jump from 285,000 hectares one day earlier. “Mother nature continues to be our foe in this regard and not our friend,” Notley said. Winds pushed the fire into an area dotted with oil sands work camps, completely destroying a 665-bed camp belonging to Horizon North Logistics just hours after the area was ordered evacuated. The company said every staff member was safe and accounted for.

Two nearby camps for oil sands workers – the 3,700-room Noralta Lodge and 360-room Birch Creek – were being carefully monitored as the flames approached. “We expect fire growth in the area of many of these camps today,” Notley said. Winds were expected to shift the fire east towards the Syncrude and Suncor Energy oil sands facilities. Officials described both facilities as resilient to the risk of fire, pointing to the wide firebreaks surrounding both sites and their private crews of highly trained firefighters. Suncor said on Tuesday that it had begun shuttering its base plant operations as a precautionary measure. Hot spots continued to flare in the city of Fort McMurray – the oil sands hub ordered evacuated two weeks ago as flames flickered in the trees on its outskirts. More than 88,000 people hurriedly fled, with many of them now scattered across Alberta and the rest of the country.

Plans to allow evacuees to return to were being challenged by the continued threat of the fire as well as the heavy blanket of smoke that stubbornly hovers in the region. On Monday the air quality index, normally measured on a scale of 1 to 10, had soared to 38. By Tuesday it had dropped to 13 but officials warned it would likely rise again and hamper recovery efforts in the city. Notley said she hoped to offer residents – who are now entering their third week since being evacuated – a tentative timeline on re-entry later in the week. Safety remains the primary concern, with two separate explosions igniting fires and damaging roughly 10 homes on Tuesday. The cause of the explosions was under investigation. “When you start turning on a switch ... in a city of 90,000 people, sometimes stuff happens,” said Notley. “What those two incidents last night demonstrated to us is that’s the right way to go, that we need to make sure we’ve got everything cued up before people come back in because we want to make sure it’s safe.”

The fire cut a path of destruction through Fort McMurray, destroying entire neighbourhoods but mostly sparing critical infrastructure like the hospital, water treatment plant and airport. About 2,400 structures were consumed by the fire, but about 90% of the city was left intact. The wildfire was expected to reach the neighbouring province of Saskatchewan on Tuesday, said Chad Morrison, Alberta’s manager of wildfire prevention. The lack of rain in the forecast suggested little relief was in sight for firefighters struggling to gain control over the blaze, he added. As the fire raged out of control in the region, production of oil sands crude dropped by roughly a million barrels of oil per day. In recent days oil sands workers had begun returning to the camps north of Fort McMurray in the hope of ramping up production. Monday’s evacuation and the volatile nature of the fire have raised concerns that the region may suffer a prolonged production outage.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/18/alberta-wildfire-work-camp-destroyed-evacuated

See also:

Oil Sands Restart Plans Thwarted as Wildfire Threat Returns
17 May `16 - Suncor evacuates sites that were preparing to resume work; Conference Board says fire to cost economy C$985 million


Plans to bring back more than 1 million barrels a day of lost production in Canada’s oil sands are being delayed as wildfires sweeping across northern Alberta threaten operations again, prompting Suncor Energy Inc. to evacuate three sites it was restarting. The nation’s largest oil producer flew employees from its MacKay River, Firebag and base plant sites as it shut down the facilities days after beginning the process of resuming output. The wildfire that’s raged for more than two weeks circled back north of Fort McMurray toward the main operations in the oil sands, the world’s third-largest reserves.

About 8,000 workers were removed from lodging facilities as the blaze grew to about 3,550 square kilometers (1,370 square miles), Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said Tuesday. That’s an area bigger than Rhode Island. Horizon North Logistics Inc.’s Blacksand lodge, a work camp about 40 kilometers (24 miles) northwest of Fort McMurray that serves Suncor and Syncrude Canada Ltd. sites, some of the largest oil-sands facilities, was destroyed by fire, Notley said. “Mother Nature continues to be our foe in this regard and not our friend,” Notley said in a briefing. Westerly winds were forecast to push the fire closer to Suncor and Syncrude oil-sands plants, though both facilities are very resilient, she said. “We expect fire growth in the area of many of these camps.”

Production Cuts

The delay to restarts is another setback for Canada’s economy and energy industry in what is already estimated to be the country’s costliest disaster, following the evacuation of more than 80,000 people from their homes earlier this month as entire neighborhoods in Fort McMurray were razed. Oil-sands output has been reduced by about 1.2 million barrels a day, according to estimates from the Conference Board of Canada. The research group forecasts that 14 days of production cuts represents a hit of about C$985 million ($763 million) to the Alberta economy.

Suncor is focused on moving people out of the oil-sands region, Sneh Seetal, a spokeswoman, said by phone. The MacKay River, Firebag and base plant mine sites together have a capacity to produce about 740,000 barrels a day. Syncrude, a joint venture controlled by Suncor, also evacuated workers because of the fire threat, Will Gibson, a spokesman, said in an e-mail. Syncrude’s Mildred Lake and Aurora mines together have a capacity to produce about 407,000 barrels a day.

Rain Forecast (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-17/oil-sands-restart-plans-thwarted-as-alberta-fire-threat-returns)

[waltky]

Evacuation orders lifted north of Fort McMurray...
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Progress made on fighting Fort McMurray wildfire
May 21, 2016 -- Firefighters in Alberta said they should be able to make progress containing the Fort McMurray wildfire over the weekend and several camps north of the town have been reopened.


The progress is thanks to cooler, damper weather in the region, which saw trace amounts of rain Friday. Mandatory evacuation orders for several oilseeds camps north ofFort McMurray were lifted, municipal officials tweeted, though the town itself remains under a mandatory evacuation.


http://cdnph.upi.com/sv/b/upi/UPI-9061463857758/2016/1/3ce779d31eed1d6823ab89810ce03e93/Progress-made-on-fighting-Fort-McMurray-wildfire.jpg

The wildfire, which now occupies about 1.2 million acres, has shrunk slightly over the last two days, firefighters said. They were able to make more progress on the "dozer line" — the bulldozer line meant to contain the wildfire — and helicopter loads of water were making progress in beating back the massive flames.

Among the odder problems generated by the wildfire is the increasing prevalence of black bears in Fort McMurray. Wildlife officials said the bears are being attracted into the town by the smell of rotting food in abandoned homes. The bears are, like people, largely homeless thanks to the wildfire destroying so much of their surrounding habitat. Wildlife officials told the CBC residents returning should be on the lookout for bears in places they previously would not have been.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2016/05/21/Progress-made-on-fighting-Fort-McMurray-wildfire/9061463857758/?spt=sec&or=tn

See also:

Fire evacuation orders lifted north of Fort McMurray
Sunday 22nd May, 2016 — Alberta officials have lifted mandatory evacuation orders in some areas north of Fort McMurray, where a raging wildfire has forced the evacuation of more than 80,000 people and the closure of oil sands operations.


Officials said Saturday that conditions have improved in some parts north of the oil sands city. Suncor Energy Inc. and Syncrude will now be able to resume its idled northern oil sands operations and bring back evacuated workers.

About 8,000 oil sands workers in camps north of Fort McMurray were evacuated after gusting winds and high temperatures caused the fire to move rapidly toward them earlier this week.

The blaze, which began May 1, has covered 1,930 square miles (5,000 square kilometers), including areas that are still burning and those where the fire has already been put out.

http://www.startribune.com/fire-evacuation-orders-lifted-north-of-fort-mcmurray/380361771/

[waltky]

Fort McMurray residents to return home...
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Fort McMurray fire: First residents to return home
Tue, 31 May 2016 - Some residents of the Canadian city of Fort McMurray are to begin returning home after a raging wildfire that displaced 90,000 people.


Some Fort McMurray residents are to return home for the first time since a huge wildfire that displaced 90,000 people in north-west Canada. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said the conditions needed for the return of the residents had been met. The first residents will return on Wednesday, although three neighbourhoods remain off-limits. Authorities will continue assessing conditions daily, and the plans could change if conditions worsen. CBC reported that five conditions had to be met for people to return, including the restoration of critical services such as police and healthcare.


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Air quality is expected to continue improving in the city thanks to cooler weather and expected rain. "The resilience and determination of the people of Fort McMurray continues to impress me every single day," Ms Notley wrote on Facebook. "I know that even in the face of this challenging and frustrating news, that they will remain strong, resilient, and together." She said 500 homes in the Abasand, Beacon Hill and Waterways neighbourhoods had been deemed unsafe for habitation, meaning about 9,000 people will have to stay out of Fort McMurray for the immediate future. A boil-water advisory notice remains in place and the province is warning certain at-risk groups to be careful about coming back. "To residents choosing to return this week, I ask you to not go home without a plan," Ms Notley said. "Bring food, water and any other supplies needed for the next two weeks."

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police will be patrolling the city as residents start their return. "When they say to bring 14 days worth of food and water, they mean it," said Jim Mandeville, an official with disaster clean-up group FirstOnSite. "And when they say people with respiratory conditions shouldn't come up here, they mean it - and they have a really good reason why. It is not a clean, safe, normal environment that you're walking into.'' The fire began on 3 May and destroyed more than 2,400 homes and buildings. It shut off nearly a quarter of Canada's oil production as it approached Alberta's oil sands. The fire is still burning and covers about 580,000 hectares (5,800 sq km), including part of the neighbouring province of Saskatchewan, but is not expected to grow significantly.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-36422137