Fort McMurray Wildfire Conditions Improve, Giving Officials Confidence

Sean Breslin
Published: May 9,2016

After searing hundreds of thousands of acres, the wildfire that continues to rage near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, could continue to burn for months, but officials believe a turning point may have been reached in the fight against the flames.
"Though no rain is in the forecast, temperatures will be much cooler the next several days. Highs are forecast to be in the 50s through at least Thursday," said weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce.
Officials said Sunday they hoped to get a "death grip" on the blaze. Alberta Manager of Wildfire Prevention Chad Morrison said in a news conference that he's "very happy" and called it great firefighting weather, according to the Associated Press.
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"We can really get in there and really get a handle on this fire and really get a death grip on it," said Morrison. The cooler temperatures should allow firefighters to put out hot spots.
Parliament member David Yurdiga toured Fort McMurray on Sunday and was optimistic for the recovery.
"We'll be back on our feet a lot quicker than I thought we would be," he told reporters, via the AP. "All of the key infrastructure is in place. Our hospital is standing. Our schools are standing. Our treatment plant is functioning."
Despite this silver lining, officials have been unable to predict when the flames in residential areas would be contained, but Morrison told NBC that the blaze would likely be burning "for a number of months."
"We expect to be out fighting in the forest area for months to come," he added.
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As of the last official update on Sunday, the fire grew to nearly 400,000 acres, roughly the size of Houston. The fire is still west of the Saskatchewan border.
She also announced that officials have completed transporting the residents of Fort McMurray out of the area, where the flames have torched at least 2,400 homes and other buildings.
In a conference held Saturday, Notley said the gas has been turned off in the municipality and the power is out. The water has been declared undrinkable.

During the same conference, Alberta Wildfire official Chad Morrison said 12 structures have been destroyed or damaged in Anzac, and that 40 other fires are burning in Alberta besides the inferno in Fort McMurray, CKNW also reports.
Sixty seniors and people with health issues were evacuated from Fort McKay on Saturday due to heavy smoke, Morrison also said. Everyone in the evacuation zone has been urged to leave the area.
Evacuees have found a place of refuge in Lac La Biche, Alberta, a small town of about 2,500 that has been providing them a place to sleep, food, donated clothing and even shelter for their pets, the AP also said. The Bold Center, a sports facility in town, has tables piled with clothing, towels and other items and has been offering three free meals a day and other services, including mental health services.
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Officials put a convoy of vehicles in motion Friday morning to move hundreds out of an area north of the city. The convoy was needed because some 25,000 people fled north of the city when mandatory evacuations were issued and became trapped due to a highway closure. Around 1,200 vehicles were able to move southward on Highway 63 Friday, Larivee said, even though officials had to halt evacuations for an hour due to heavy smoke on the highway.
"The reality is that we want to keep Highway 63 open and flowing as long as we can," said a Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokesperson. "Our goal is to move all of the 25,000 evacuees in the north to the south."

In all, at least 88,000 people have been evacuated, and some have been forced to leave shelters and flee even further as the fire grew. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called it "the largest fire evacuation in Alberta's history."
The Alberta government said more than 1,100 firefighters, 145 helicopters, 138 pieces of heavy equipment and 22 air tankers were brought in to fight the destructive inferno.
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Fort McMurray International Airport's main terminal appeared to escape damage Wednesday night, but CBC reported Thursday morning that several other airport buildings were destroyed. The airport was built just two years ago at a cost of $258 million ($200 million U.S.), according to CTV News Calgary.
A provincial state of emergency was declared by the Alberta government Wednesday evening as it became clear the raging fire showed no signs of weakening. The fire and mass evacuation has forced as much as a quarter of Canada's oil output to go offline, according to the AP.
It has not yet been determined what caused the fire, but officials fear it was sparked by lightning because it started in a rural, wooded area.
According to Reuters, officials will use drones to investigate the cause of the blaze on Tuesday. The devices have been outfitted with cameras that have infrared, ultraviolet and traditional optical cameras to locate the hottest part of the fire and trace it to its source.
Two deaths have been indirectly attributed to the wildfire. Emily Ryan, 15, and her stepmother's nephew, Aaron Hodgson, were killed during the evacuation Wednesday afternoon when their SUV hit a tractor-trailer, according to a CBC report. Ryan's father is a Wood Buffalo firefighter who was removed from active duty due to the tragedy, the report added.