Coming rains could slow Fort McMurray's 'beast' wildfire

Long-awaited rain showers could soon dampen the seeminglyinsatiable wildfire choking Fort McMurray.

Firefighters battling flames that jumped Highway 63 a few kilometres north of the city felt cool water on their faces Thursday morning, as the first raindrops fell. It was awelcome change after days of vice-grip dryness, andsmokeclouds filled with dust and heat and ash.

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"It's still too early to tell what this bit of rain is going to do," said fire information officer Travis Fairweather, in the cautious tone officials involved with this disaster have learned to use when talking about their foe: a wildfirethat has proven staunchly unpredictable and uncontrollable.

"But definitely every little bit helps."

Environment Canada's forecast for Fort McMurray Thursday called for a 60 per cent chance of rainand a high of 11 C. Showers are expected on Saturday and Sunday, too.

"If we can get more than one day and some really high amounts of rain, we'll be able to get this fire under control at some point," Fairweather said.

Holding it back

By Thursday morning, the wildfires had consumed roughly 505,000 hectares, a burn area larger than the total razed by fires acrossAlberta duringlast year's entire fire season. Tongues of the fire have also crossed the Alberta border into Saskatchewan.

Fort McMurray fire still out of control

8 years ago

Duration 0:56

Municipal Affairs Minister Danielle Larivee gave an update Thursday morning on firefighting progress in and around Fort McMurray.

The blaze marched north this week, closer to Fort McMurray's famous oilsands. Firefighters have been busy, and reported nofurther damagesovernight to oil facilities or camps.

Crews at Noralta Lodge, a 3,500-room temporary housing unit for oilsands workers, continued to hold back flamesthat burned around the edges of its facility about 30 kilometres north of the Fort McMurray townsite.

The wildfire destroyed the 655-room Blacksand Executive Lodge Tuesday, and triggered mandatoryevacuations from oilsands camps and facilities closest to the northern edge of the townsite. The province estimates some 6,000 workers left the area this week, mainly employees and contractors forSuncor.

Roughly 11,000 are still there, working atoil production sites further north like CNRL and Shell, which are unaffected by the disaster.

Officials say fires burned vegetation at the edges of oilsands mines for Syncrude and Suncor, but reported no new damage to those facilities Thursday morning.

A finger of wildfire that snaked northward up the west side of Highway 63 this week got so hot it flung firebrand pieces across the road Wednesday afternoon, sparking spot fires at the south boundary of the Northlands sawmill.

Staff at the mill told CBC News in an interview that helicopters and firefighters have held the flames away.