A wildfire continues to burn near Cenovus Energy’s Pelican Lake facility, but according to an update issued by the company Wednesday afternoon, the blaze is now being held and essential personnel are being brought back to the oil production site.
The energy firm said it safely shut down about 23,000 barrels a day of production and ordered the evacuation of 118 workers from its Pelican Lake facility Tuesday after a fire was discovered about one kilometre away from its main complex.
READ MORE: Cenovus oil facility in Alberta shuts down over nearby Wabasca wildfire
As of Wednesday morning, the company said the operation remains shut down with no damage to the facilities or infrastructure. Forty-four essential staff were expected to return by Wednesday evening, and the company said it would assess whether or not it could safely restart production on Thursday if conditions don’t change overnight.
As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, the fire was estimated to be about 75 hectares in size and Cenovus said fire guards were put in pace to protect it’s facilities. Earlier in the day, Alberta wildfire officials said the blaze nearly doubled in size to 91 hectares overnight but said it was moving away from nearby oil facilities.
“Because the fire is not considered an imminent threat to our facilities or staff, we have determined it is currently safe for essential personnel to return to Pelican Lake,” the company said in a statement.
Cenovus said the air quality at its main Pelican Lake complex was at acceptable levels Wednesday afternoon but said regular monitoring of air quality would continue.
As a precaution, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNRL) said it had also temporarily stopped producing 800 barrels a day and moved non-essential personnel from the project’s northern camp. CNRL said the fire was a safe distance from its major facilities at Pelican Lake.
Watch below: Cenovus Energy evacuated and shut down its Pelican Lake facility Tuesday because of a wildfire raging just a kilometre away. Nancy Carlson has the details.
Three fire crews supported by helicopters and air tankers are fighting the fire, which is burning about 300 kilometres north of Edmonton and 30 kilometres northeast of the community of Wabasca, Alta.
Pelican Lake is about 400 kilometres southwest of Fort McMurray.
Visit the government of Alberta’s website for the very latest information on the wildfire status across Alberta and the current fire ban situation.
You can also download the Alberta Wildfire app for Android and Apple for real-time.
-With files from The Canadian Press & Caley Ramsay.
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