Authorities say firefighters are facing a “challenging day” as a massive fire approaches Fort McMurray in Alberta’s oil sands.
Authorities in the Canadian province of Alberta have issued evacuation orders for neighborhoods in Fort McMurray as a growing wildfire approaches the community in the heart of Canada’s oil sands region.
The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo on Tuesday afternoon gave residents in the Abasand, Beacon Hill, Prairie Creek and Grayling Terrace areas about two hours to leave their homes due to an approaching wildfire.
“These neighborhoods have a direct interface with places where fire can spread. The Regional Emergency Services will be able to better defend these neighborhoods from forest fires if they are uninhabited and unimpeded”, stated the municipality.
Located about 430 km (270 miles) northeast of Edmonton, Fort McMurray has suffered devastating wildfires before.
In 2016, tens of thousands of people were forced to flee when a massive fire destroyed homes, businesses and other structures in the city.
Wildfire MWF017 continued to grow, especially in the Northeast. Firefighters will continue to work on establishing containment lines around this fire today. For more information about this fire: pic.twitter.com/biGLpz0iU6
– Alberta Wildfire (@AlbertaWildfire) May 14, 2024
The current wildfire — dubbed MWF107 — has grown to 9,602 hectares (23,700 acres) and is considered out of control, the province’s Alberta Wildfire agency said in an update Tuesday. It was located about 15 km (9 mi) southwest of Fort McMurray.
“Smoke is affecting visibility and it is difficult to determine accurate distances at this time,” the agency said Tuesday morning.
“Fire activity is increasing on the northeast edge of the wildfire, driven by southwest winds. Smoke columns are developing. This will be a challenging day for firefighters.”
Canada had its most intense fire season on record in 2023, with hundreds of wildfires burning in provinces and territories across the country.
The huge fires forced thousands of people to abandon their homes, destroyed entire communities and sent huge clouds of smoke across the United States and Europe.
Experts say the climate crisis is largely to blame for the record-setting conflagrations. Warmer temperatures have extended Canada’s wildfire season, which typically runs from late April until September or October.
It also increased lightning, which is typically the cause of about half of all fires in the country.
In recent days, a few thousand people in Canada’s far western province of British Columbia have also been evacuated from their homes after a huge fire broke out near the small town of Fort Nelson in the northeast of the province.
Known as the Parker Lake wildfire, the blaze in British Columbia could move closer to the city and neighboring Fort Nelson First Nation as authorities warn of the risk of strong winds driving the flames.
But local media reported that Tuesday brought favorable weather conditions to the area.
Rob Fraser, mayor of the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality, which includes Fort Nelson, told CBC News on Tuesday morning that the weather was “very calm” and a cloudy sky should help crews respond.
“As long as the wind doesn’t blow from the west, it won’t blow any closer to the city,” Fraser said.
Last week, the Canadian government said Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologists predicted “weather conditions for the spring and summer of 2024 that could lead to increased wildfire risks.”
“As we might expect with climate change, most of Canada has experienced warmer, drier spring conditions so far, with the added influence of El Niño this year,” the government said in a statement.
“Drought conditions are expected to persist in high-risk regions into May, including the southern Prairies and western provinces.”
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
