Evacuation order issued as wildfire threatening Fort McMurray draws closer

Wallis Snowdon | Posted: May 14, 2024 4:22 PM | Last Updated: May 15

Wildfire now estimated to be nearly 21,000 hectares

Image | Fort McMurray Wildfire evacuation

Caption: Cars jam a main Fort McMurray thoroughfare after an evacuation order was issued Tuesday by Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo for four neighbourhoods in the community. (Jamie Malbeuf/CBC)

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Thousands of residents in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo have been ordered to leave their homes as a wildfire burning southwest of Fort McMurray continues to draw closer to the community.

Several neighbourhoods in Fort McMurray are being evacuated to make way for firefighters. The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo issued the evacuation order Tuesday afternoon after declaring a state of local emergency.

The evacuation order is in effect for the neighbourhoods of Beacon Hill, Abasand, Prairie Creek and Grayling Terrace.

A wildfire threatening the community has now consumed nearly 21,000 hectares as shifting winds and rising temperatures continue to accelerate its growth and push the flames closer to the municipality.

All residents in the evacuation zone were ordered to leave by 4 p.m. MT, the municipality said.

Jody Butz, the regional fire chief, said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon that the order would affect about 6,000 residents, although he later clarified to Wood Buffalo council that there could be up to 6,600 people in the evacuation zone.

Local roads and highways were choked with vehicles Tuesday afternoon as residents fled south.

People who are unable to evacuate themselves are being asked to report to designated muster points, where transit buses will be on standby to take them and their pets to safety. Evacuees are being told to register online.

The RMWB has set up an evacuation centre at the Cold Lake Agriplex at 4608 38th Ave. in Cold Lake.

The City of Edmonton has its evacuation centre operating out of Clareview Community Recreation Centre at 3804 139th Ave., offering food services, clothing, pet day care and health care. Red Cross will be at the centre to co-ordinate hotel accommodations, the city says.

Different than 2016

Officials say the fire threatening Fort McMurray is a different kind of beast from the 2016 wildfire that devastated the community.

Butz told reporters Tuesday afternoon the current fire behaviour is extreme but less volatile that what was seen eight years ago when the entire community was forced to flee.

Unlike the 2016 fire, the flames encroaching on the community now are not part of a crown fire, Butz said. Crown fires move rapidly through the treetops and tinder-dry fuels.

Instead, the current blaze is a ground fire that is moving low and more slowly through previously burned areas, giving crews a better chance of subduing the flames, Butz said.

"The fuel that was there, it's different," he said. "All the dead and downed trees that were there, that's what's being burned right now, along with some dry grass.

"It's a surface fire and it's running along the surface in these extreme conditions."

The neighbourhoods under evacuation are most at risk.

Crews will be better able to defend these areas with the residents gone, Butz said. Many of the neighbourhood streets now under evacuation were devastated by fire in 2016 Abasand and Beacon Hill were among the hardest hit.

Officials are urging residents to remain calm as fire crews again prepare to descend on the community.

"We are confident that we have the resources to defend these areas but we need people out of harm's way," Butz said.

WATCH | People urged to leave so crews can 'defend these neighbourhoods':

Media : 'We need people out of harm's way,' fire chief says after evacuation order issued

Caption: Wood Buffalo Regional Fire Chief Jody Butz urged those in the northeastern Alberta community to leave their homes so crews can deal with a wildfire that continues to draw closer.

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Josee St-Onge, a spokesperson with Alberta Wildfire, said the fire has grown since it was last measured and has continued to advance toward the community.

The fire is now around eight kilometres from the landfill on the southern outskirts of Fort McMurray, she said. The scale and intensity of the fire has made it difficult to track and to manage.

"We're seeing extreme fire behaviour," St-Onge said. "Smoke columns are developing and the skies are covered in smoke. Firefighters have been pulled from the fire line for safety reasons."

Winds are blowing from the southwest, gusting up to 40 km/h. The fire will continue to grow toward the community until those winds shift, she said.

"Unfortunately, these are not favourable winds for us and the fire will continue to advance towards the town until we see a wind shift," St-Onge said.

"We understand that this is a very stressful time for the community. I want to assure everyone that we are doing everything we can."

Image | Fort McMurray wildfire May 14

Caption: A highway camera photo shows traffic in FortMcMurray jammed in the southbound lane of Highway 63 on the north side of the Athabasca River. The image was captured at 3:11 p.m. MT, about an hour after an evacuation order was issued for four neighbourhoods. (511 Alberta)

An evacuation alert remains in effect for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek, Gregoire Lake Estates, Fort McMurray First Nation 468, Anzac and Rickards Landing Industrial Park. People in these areas should be prepared to leave on short notice if the risk from the fire escalates.

Residents not in the evacuation zone are being encouraged to remain in place to allow for a safe evacuation of neighbourhoods most at risk.

Parched, hot weather continues to fuel extreme, high-intensity conditions across northern Alberta.

Fifty wildfires are burning across the province, including two out-of-control fires: the one southwest of Fort McMurray and another threatening homes in the County of Grande Prairie.

Wildfire near Fort McMurray grows to 5,500 hectares but flames pushed south of community

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As of Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m., the wildfire was about 7.5 km from the Fort McMurray landfill and 6.5 km from the intersection of highways 63 and 881, the only two highways that lead south out of the community.

Alberta Wildfire said the wildfire grew Monday when the sun came out and the humidity dissipated during the afternoon. Shifting winds also contributed to the growth "in multiple directions," the agency said.

Image | Fort McMurray wildfire MWF017

Caption: The wildfire threatening Fort McMurray grew rapidly on Monday, fuelled by shifting winds. (Alberta Wildfire)

On Tuesday winds were blowing from the southwest at 20 km/h, gusting to 40 km/h.

Columns of smoke

Blackened columns of smoke rising from the fire were visible over the community Monday evening. The air remained thick with ash Tuesday. An air quality advisory is in effect, warning of severely reduced air quality and low visibility.

In an update to residents, municipal officials said the location of the fire was to blame.

The fire has reached areas burned in 2016 when a wildfire swept through the community, triggering the largest evacuation in Alberta in history. The flames are creating a large amount of smoke as they move through these burn zones, the municipality said.

Emergency officials are hopeful that areas burned in 2016 will act as a natural fire break, helping to protect the community from being devastated by fire twice. But there is also concern that strong winds could counteract that effect.

Officials were watching to see how the fires behave in the areas that were scorched eight years ago.

"Generally, when a wildfire hits an area that has already burned, there is less fuel available and it slows down," St-Onge said Tuesday morning.

"Today will be a good indication if that old burn will be able to help us."

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Crews were working on a containment line Tuesday. Heavy equipment crews are also working on a fire guard to the southwest of Fort McMurray and on the northern edge of the fire.

Helicopters and air tankers will be dropping water on the active edges of the fire. There are 70 firefighters and 14 helicopters currently assigned to the wildfire. "This will be a challenging day for firefighters," Alberta Wildfire cautioned.

Compensation for evacuees

Premier Danielle Smith said in the legislature Tuesday that the government will provide compensation for evacuees.

A spokesperson for the province said that just like in previous years, evacuees who are away for at least seven days will get $1,250 per adult and $500 per child under 18.