More evacuation orders issued for Fort McMurray area

Many evacuees forced from their Fort McMurray homes bywildfire Tuesday are on the move once again.

Three communities south of Fort McMurray,oneincluding anevacuation centre, were ordered to leave as changing weather patterns turned thewildfire their way late Wednesday evening.

Evacuees worry about their homes

8 years ago

Duration 2:11

Fort McMurray evacuees are left wondering if their homes are still standing, CBC's Briar Stewart reports

A red glow from the encroaching firecan be seen ominously framing the Anzacevacuation centre as people board buses. For Donna Guillamot, evacuated yesterday from Fort McMurray, the feeling is all too familiar.

"I thought it was safe here, so I guess we'll go to Edmonton," saidGuillamot."It's very stressful, you don't know what's burned, what's not burned, when you can go back."

"Now you're sitting here and all you see is red flames. It's pretty scary."

RCMP went door to door in Anzac,GregoireLake Estates and Fort McMurray First Nation after a mandatory evacuation order was issued.

Buses took people to Edmonton and officialshope to have everyone out by midnight.Dale Bendfeld, theacting director of community services and policing forWood Buffalo, says safety, as always, is paramount.

"As you can see looking up there this is a very large and very serious fire we're working with," said Benfeld.

"It's already taken on a city, we're going to ensure that people of Anzac and Gregoire are safe and get them down to Edmonton and out of here."

The regional emergency operations centre (REOC) which had just relocated to Anzac from the Fort McMurray airportwill be moving south toLac La Biche.

Anzac has a population of 714, GregoireLake Estates79 and FortMcMurrayFirst Nation about700 the populations are likely much higher due to the number of Fort McMurray evacuees staying in the communities.

Fort McMurray cut off

As the sun set behind clouds of thick smoke earlier onWednesday evening, Fort McMurray was effectivelycut off from the rest of Albertaas a massive wildfire burned on both sides of the critical highway that links the oilsands city with the rest of province.

By day's end, the raging fire had destroyed more than 1,600 homes and buildings and forced even the emergency response team to move its headquarters to a new location, 30 kilometres to the south.

About 250 firefighters, aided by 12helicopters and 17 air tankers, fought flames on several fronts in and around the city.

Smoke moves in on the FortMcMurrayInternational Airport. Here's a look from 8:41 a.m. to 6:41 p.m. MTWednesday. (Images from NAV Canada'swebcam)

One battle took place near the northwest neighbourhood ofTimberlea. Two others were fought on the southside, near the airport and Saline Creek.

"Currently that fire, at Airport Road and Highway 63 ... has jumped both sides of the road, and traffic is no longer moving north or south,"Dale Bendfeld, acting director of community and protective services, said in an update Wednesday evening.

With 80,000 people evacuated and the fire still out of control,Alberta declared a province-wide state of emergency, a move that puts the battle to save the city, and subsequent recovery efforts, in the hands of the provincial government.

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'Heroic efforts'

As the day passed,the fire, pushed by gusting winds, moved steadily east.

All commercial flights intoFortMcMurrayInternational Airport remainedsuspended.

At one point early in the evening, theRegional Municipality of Wood Buffalo reported that theCanWestPropane building, down the road from the airport, was on fire. Less than an hour later, just after 7 p.m., another update said the building had been saved thanks to"heroic efforts from fire crews."

The emergency response centre was evacuated at midday from a fire station in that area to the community ofAnzac, south of the city.

The region reported some good news, saying on Twitter that "firefighting efforts to save the water treatment plant have been successful!"

Tens of thousands have fled the city

In all,about 10,000 peoplewho fled the fire werebeing sheltered at oil companywork camps north of the city. Some of those camps have run short of food, but provincial officials said aC-130JHercules aircraft will be loaded with food and water and flown to those camps, some of which have their own runways, either Wednesdayeveningor onThursday.

Another 70,000 residents, the province said, headed south out of FortMcMurray before the highway was closed,where many ended up in evacuation centres inAnzac, Lac LaBicheor in Edmonton, 430 kilometres away.

Some drivers headed southran out of gas and werestranded. On Wednesday, a fuel tanker truck was dispatched along the highway to fill empty gas tanks.

For fire Chief Darby Allen, it was another trying and emotional day.

"We successfully evacuated 88,000 people," he said duringa morning news conference. "No one is hurt and no one has passed away.

Then, his voice breaking with emotion, he said: "I really hope that we can get to the end of this day and we can still say that."

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Allen described the wildfire as if itwere a living thing, and warned thatparts of the cityremainin grave danger.

Speaking of neighbourhoods that had so far escaped the flames, he said:"This fire will look for them and it will find them, and it will try to take them. And our challenge today is to try to prevent that."

By day's end it was unclear how successful those efforts had been.

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