Emergency officials in Alberta say they hope the changing direction and weakening strength of winds blowing near Fort McMurray will help crews as they continue to fight a wildfire that’s already forced thousands of people to flee the area.
Residents living in Abasand, Beacon Hill, Prairie Creek and Grayling Terrace were ordered to leave by 4 p.m. on May 14. That evacuation order will likely be in place until at least May 21, officials said.
“Winds today should help push fire away from Fort McMurray,” Alberta Wildfire information unit manager Christie Tucker said during an update on Wednesday morning.
She said “gusty winds” fuelling the threatening wildfire helped trigger Tuesday afternoon’s evacuation order for parts of Fort McMurray.
“We are expecting the fire to move away from the community and away from the highway,” Tucker said, adding that fire crews hope to make “significant progress” on battling the blaze while wind conditions help. “Of course winds can change.”
As of 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, the out-of-control MWF-017 fire was about 21,000 hectares in size, which was the size estimate provided at 9 a.m.
The closest point of the fire remains about 5.5 km from the Fort McMurray landfill and 4.5 km from the intersection of Highway 63 and Highway 881.
Alberta Wildfire confirmed the wildfire was active on Wednesday but much less active than Tuesday, “thanks to cooler temperatures, weaker winds and smoke cover.”
In all, about 6,600 residents from the southern part of Fort McMurray, a community of about 68,000 people, have been ordered to leave their homes. The rest of Fort McMurray and a number of surrounding communities remain on an evacuation alert.
Premier Danielle Smith also spoke at Wednesday’s news conference Tucker attended, along with several other cabinet ministers and emergency officials.
“I know this will bring back difficult memories,” Smith said, referencing the massive 2016 wildfire that forced the full evacuation of Fort McMurray. “This evacuation is a stark reminder that our province lives alongside the threat of wildfires.
“My sympathy is with everyone in this situation, but safety is our top priority.”
Wood Buffalo Mayor Sandy Bowman joined emergency officials at a separate news conference later on Wednesday morning and said he was grateful for the supports his community is receiving from Smith and her government.
“They’ve made this the top priority in the province,” he said. “We’re doing all we can to protect our community.”
Bowman said previous natural disasters in Fort McMurray mean that “there is some trauma” among residents,” but that he believes the community is for the most part “feeling a lot better than they did” during the 2016 wildfire event.
“We’re known as a strong, resilient community from what we’ve gone through in the past and that’s what we’re seeing today.”
Fort McMurray resident Hannah Swan left her home and came to Edmonton.
“It’s definitely troubling because we’ve been through this before, right? (I’m) just hanging in there,” she said. “This time was a little bit better (than 2016) … It just seemed like there was a lot more trauma going on last time but this time it was a little bit more: ‘OK, these communities are going and these will stay and we’ll kind of go through a process.'”
Elissa Campbell remained in Fort McMurray Wednesday. Her neighbourhood was not part of the evacuation order.
“We’re just going to wait and see what happens. Everybody evacuated yesterday who needed to evacuate. As of right now, we know that there’s no immediate danger to where we live,” she said. “We have our bags packed and our passports and that ready to go should something change. It’s always best to be prepared.
“I think we’re just grateful to be still kicking, still going. We’re proud to part of this community.”
“Overnight aerial operations continued until 3 a.m. with night vision-equipped aircraft, one aircraft dropping 26,153 gallons and the other dropping 90,000 gallons,” RMWB officials said.
“Ground operations continued building a containment line from the landfill prioritizing the eastern fire flank. This fire line construction will continue as a 24-hour operation to complete the containment line.”
Firefighting conditions
According to the RMWB, the weather forecast for Fort McMurray suggests that the temperature will reach a high of about 17 C and that there was a 30 per cent chance of rain. There was also the risk of a thunderstorm.
“Winds are expected to be out of the north with speeds of approximately 10 km/h, and relative humidity will reach 30 per cent,” officials said.
Officials noted a weather station near the fire recorded 0.3 mm of precipitation on Tuesday night. They explained that “precipitation values of 0.6 mm or more are required to reduce fire behaviour.”
Winds from the east at 10 km/h are forecasted for Thursday, Alberta Wildfire said in a Wednesday evening update.
Firefighters were back on the fire line Wednesday and worked on establishing a containment line. Helicopters and airtankers dropped water and retardant on the active edges of the fire. Heavy equipment operators are building fire guards to the southwest of Fort McMurray.
Heavy equipment operators will work overnight on the fire guards. Three night vision helicopters will also work overnight to drop water on the active edges of the fire.
There are 141 firefighters, 21 helicopters and 57 pieces of heavy equipment currently assigned to the wildfire.
Firefighters are working on structure protection in the Abasand neighbourhood. Structure protection has been put in place for the Prairie Creek and Beacon Hill neighbourhoods, as well as on the Rickards Landing Industrial Park, Gregoire Lake Estates and Gregoire Lake 176.
Tucker suggested that as efforts to fight wildfires in the province continue, she was heartened by some changes made to Alberta’s approach to the threat posed by such events.
“No other jurisdiction in Canada starts their fire season on March 1,” she said.
Federal Defence Minister Bill Blair said the government is monitoring the situation very closely and the Canadian Armed Forces are ready if called upon.
“We will always be there to answer that call,” he said Wednesday. “This process requires a request for assistance from the provinces. But we won’t wait for it to ensure that we’re ready. … We’re watching with growing concern about the fire situation, particularly in the West in B.C. and Alberta.
“We are making sure that the Canadian Armed Forces stands ready when required, and will respond quickly and ably to any request that comes in.”
Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen said in terms of firefighter staffing levels, Alberta is “in a better position than we were last year.”
He added that Alberta’s night-vision improvements when it comes to helping firefighters battle flames in the dark is a sign of progress.
According to Alberta Wildfire, the cause of the blaze remains under investigation.
Fire ban and OHV restriction
Loewen said that as of 2 p.m. local time on Wednesday, the Fort McMurray and High Level Forest areas would be subject to a fire ban. He added that an off-highway vehicle restriction would be implemented in the Fort McMurray Forest Area at the same time.
“This means that campfires will not be allowed on public or private land,” Alberta Wildfire spokesperson Josee St-Onge said. “Off-highway vehicle use will not be permitted on public land, including designated trails.
“We need everyone to do their part to prevent new wildfires.”
The RMWB declared a state of local emergency Tuesday so that it can access more resources through the Emergency Management Act.
Regional fire chief Jody Butz said in addition to the 6,600 people who were ordered to leave, “a large number of residents self-evacuated,” which he described as understandable and a personal decision.
He said Fort McMurray hasn’t suffered any power loss and there are no changes to the day-to-day operations at the hospital. Butz said crews are ready with structural protection in the community. Sprinklers have been put on buildings and high-volume water canons are ready to go.
Alberta Wildfire updates
For the latest information on which areas in Alberta are under an evacuation alert or order due to a wildfire, visit the Alberta Emergency Alert website. At the request of the AEMA, the City of Edmonton is offering assistance to Fort McMurray wildfire evacuees who are heading to the provincial capital.
When asked about income supports that will be made available to wildfire evacuees should they be out of their homes for a week or more, Smith said she is confident the amount of funding her government has earmarked for such supports will be sufficient.
However, she said if it turns out additional funding is needed, her government will ensure it becomes available.
“You just have to make sure people are taken care of,” Smith said.
For the latest information on road closures in Alberta, including those that are the result of wildfires, visit the 511 Alberta website.
For the latest information on the wildfire status and danger across the province, visit the Alberta Wildfire website.
The latest information on fire advisories, restrictions and bans across the province can be found on the Alberta fire bans website.
With files from Emily Mertz, Global News
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