Fort McMurray wildfire now considered under control

The Fort McMurray wildfire, which forced the largest evacuation in Alberta's history and consumed more than 2,400 structures and nearly 600,000 hectares of forest, is now classified as under control.

Cooler temperatures, rain and firefighting efforts combined to bring the fire to heel, wildfire information officerLaura Stewart said Tuesday.

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The wildfire hazard in the Fort McMurray region is now classified aslow.

The fire's status was downgradedMonday morning at 9:30 a.m. MT, Stewart said.

Nonetheless, a lot of work remains as firefighters continue to look for and put out hotspots, she said.

The next phase is to extinguish the fire, which will likely take until the summer of 2017,she said.

The fire wasdetected May 1. On May 3, it entered Fort McMurray, forcing a mass evacuation of the city's 80,000 residents.

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At its peak, the fire moved at30 to 40 metres per minute and createdits own weather patterns.

The fire moved east towards the Saskatchewan border, covering 589,552 hectares.

While investigators believe the fire was started by humans, it's still not known exactly how it began.