See full coverage of the Fort McMurray wildfires here
Wildfires doubled in size from midday Friday to midnight Saturday in the Fort McMurray area of Alberta, Canada, and are expected to grow, according to an update at 8 p.m. on May 7, on an official website.
The wildfires were expected to cover 200,000 hectares (over 772 square miles) by Saturday midnight.
More than 500 firefighters are battling the blaze in the specific area, with the help of 15 helicopters, 14 air tankers, and 88 other pieces of equipment.
Throughout the province, over 1,400 firefighters, about 133 helicopters, 295 pieces of heavy equipment, and more than 27 air tankers are fighting the fires.
About 19,000 people were evacuated in the past two days, 12,000 of them by air and the rest through car convoys of as many as 2,400 vehicles that were led to safety through the affected area by authorities on Friday and Saturday.
No casualties have been reported yet.
Shortly before Sunday noon there had been some rain, but it only lasted a few minutes.
It was only for a few minutes but the sight of rain has never been so good #ymmfire #FortMacFire pic.twitter.com/dp862ZWf1g
— RMWB (@RMWoodBuffalo) May 8, 2016
People are still waiting for news on the state of their homes, while authorities ask for patience, saying damage assessment takes time. It has been reported that 1,600 structures have been damaged in the city.
“We know from all the calls that you’re getting frustrated because you don’t have any information on your homes. We’re really working hard on that,” said Darby Allen, fire chief for the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in a Saturday night Twitter update.
A message from Darby Allen to the Wood Buffalo community - May 7, 8:40 p.m. #ymmfire #FortMacFire pic.twitter.com/fvkYFpfMVb
— RMWB (@RMWoodBuffalo) May 8, 2016
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