Officials Fear Massive Alberta Wildfire Could Double in Size

Canadian officials fear a massive wildfire could double in size by the end of Saturday
Officials Fear Massive Alberta Wildfire Could Double in Size
Police officers direct traffic under a cloud of smoke from a wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada on Friday, May 6, 2016. Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP
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Canadian officials fear a massive wildfire could double in size by the end of Saturday as they continue to evacuate residents of fire-ravaged Fort McMurray from work camps north of Alberta’s oil sands city.

LAC LA BICHE, Alberta—Thousands more displaced residents were getting a sobering drive-by view of their burned-out city as convoys continued Saturday to escape the raging fires.

Police and military are overseeing another procession of vehicles, and the mass airlift of evacuees was also set to resume. About 2,500 vehicles and 7,000 people had passed through Fort McMurray on Friday despite a one-hour interruption due to heavy smoke, authorities said.

A day after 8,000 people were flown out, authorities said 5,500 more were expected to be evacuated by the end of Friday and another 4,000 on Saturday.

More than 80,000 people have left Fort McMurray in the heart of Canada' oil sands, where the fire has torched 1,600 homes and other buildings. The mass evacuation forced as much as a quarter of Canada’s oil output offline and is expected to impact a country already hurt by a dramatic fall in the price of oil.

We have not seen rain in this area for the last two months of significance.
Chad Morrison, manager, Alberta Wildfire Prevention