Evacuees from the wildfires in and around Fort McMurray exit a bus at the evacuation center at the Edmonton Expo Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (AP)
Fort McMurray, Alberta — A raging wildfire emptied Canada’s main oil sands city, destroying entire neighborhoods of Fort McMurray, Alberta, where officials warned Wednesday that all efforts to suppress the fire have failed.
About 88,000 residents successfully evacuated as flames moved into the city surrounded by wilderness in the heart of Canada’s oil sands. No injuries have been reported.
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said all 105 patients at the local hospital had been safely airlifted to other care centers. She said, so far, the fire had destroyed or damaged an estimated 1,600 structures.
Unseasonably hot temperatures combined with dry conditions have transformed the boreal forest in much of Alberta into a tinder box.
Danielle Larivee, Alberta’s Minister of Municipal Affairs, said the province has declared a state of emergency and said the fire is actively burning in residential areas. Over 200 firefighters are battling the blaze. Fatalities have been reported from a collision on a nearby highway but she was unaware if it was related to the evacuation.
“This is a nasty, dirty fire. There are certainly areas of the city that have not been burned, but this fire will look for them and it will find them and it will want to take them,” Fort McMurray Fire Chief Darby Allen.
Officials estimated the fire at 7,500 hectares and said they expect it to worsen Wednesday as strong winds and high temperatures “create explosive conditions.”
Firefighters were working to protect critical infrastructure, including the only bridge across the Athabasca River and Highway 63, the only major route to the city in or out.
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