A convoy of stranded residents sped back through the Canadian oil town of Fort McMurray, escaping the fire-ravaged region under police escort yesterday, taking the only route out as the massive wildfire spread.
Fire enveloped Fort McMurray, burning some 210,000 acres in the area, forcing 88,000 people to flee on Tuesday and Wednesday, and threatening two oil sands sites south of the city. While the main fire turned southeast on Thursday, away from town, parts of the city still burned.
With helicopters overhead and police roadblocks at every turnoff on the road, the convoy will not stop until vehicles pass the mandatory evacuation zone, south of Fort McMurray, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokesman said.
Cecil Dickason, a Fort McMurray resident who was part of the convoy, said the battered city looked “awful.” Others described the city as dark and smoke-filled, pockmarked with charred and abandoned vehicles and roadside spot fires.
“It reminded us of a war zone,” said Marisa Heath, who spent 36 hours in her truck on the side of the highway with her husband, two dogs, a cat and seven kittens. “Eerie. All you could see was cement foundations of houses.”
The evacuation from the north was expected to take four days, regional authorities said on Twitter.
“Things have calmed down in the city a little bit, but guys are out as we speak, fighting fires, trying to protect your property,” said local fire chief Darby Allen in a video message to residents posted late on Thursday night.
“The beast is still up, it’s surrounding the city, and we’re here doing our very best for you.”
South of Fort McMurray, CNOOC Nexen’s Long Lake oil sands facility and Athabasca Oil’s Hangingstone project were in danger, according to emergency officials. Both facilities have been evacuated.
Robin Smith of the regional municipality of Wood Buffalo that includes Fort McMurray did not have an immediate update on the status of the energy infrastructure, including Enbridge’s Cheecham terminal and Long Lake project, noting that most big industrial sites have private firefighting units.
“In that sense they are also able to defend themselves,” said Smith.
Canadian crude prices stabilised in thin trading yesterday as the wildfire kept nearly one-third of Canadian oil sands production shuttered. Officials could not say when production would resume.