Residents of four suburbs in the Canadian city of Fort McMurray have been ordered to evacuate as a wildfire approaches the city, stirring grim reminders of the country’s costliest natural disaster.
Officials in the western province of Alberta issued evacuation orders for the neighbourhoods of Beacon Hill, Abasand, Prairie Creek and Grayling Terrace on Tuesday, telling all residents to leave by 4pm MT.
“Due to the approaching wildfire, interfacing communities are being evacuated to allow for fire suppression efforts,” the order said. Residents were advised to take pets, medications, important documents and emergency kits with them.
Officials have been closely monitoring a wildfire southwest of the city that has grown over recent days to cover 9,600 hectares, aided by arid conditions and strong winds. The huge fire has gradually been approaching Fort McMurray and is now about 13km (8 miles) from the city limits.
“Our main priority is the protection of life and property,” said Jody Butz, regional fire chief and director of emergency management, in a statement, adding the fire activity is “very different” from the blaze that ripped through the city eight years ago.
For residents of Fort McMurray, the evacuation order was a reminder of the huge wildfire that tore through Canada’s oil sands capital in 2016.
During that blaze, nearly 90,000 people were forced to evacuate the city, crawling along in bumper-to-bumper traffic as ash rained down and flames licked the side of the highway.
The fire, dubbed The Beast, obliterated much of the city’s infrastructure, causing more than $9bn in damages.
There are currently more than 50 wildfires burning across the province of Alberta, according to officials, including two out-of-control fires: the one approaching Fort McMurray and another near the community of Grande Prairie.
Other provinces in western Canada are also on edge: crews are carefully watching a blaze on the edge of Fort Nelson, a town in northern British Columbia. Strong winds are expected to push the fire even closer to the community, with fears it could be overrun in the coming days.
In Manitoba, a massive blaze near Flin Flon has grown quickly, exploding in size from the 35 hectares to 3,000 hectares in a single day.
“I’ve been working in wildfire for 40 years … I’ve never seen a fire move like this fire moved,” chief conservation officer Earl Simmons of the Manitoba wildfire service told reporters Monday.
