Rising River Threatens Fort McMurray, Evacuation Orders Issued

Aerial view of the Suncor oil sands extraction facility on the banks of the Athabasca River and near the town of Fort McMurray in Alberta Province, Canada, on Oct. 23, 2009. Mark Ralston /AFP Photo/AFP via Getty Images

The spring ice breakup on rivers in northern Alberta is forcing some residents of Fort McMurray neighbourhoods from their homes, and people in the city’s downtown have been warned to be ready to react in case the evolving situation changes.

“Every year the ice breaks and we have some sort of event. Usually the ice flows on by. Once approximately every 20 years we have something different happen,” said Don Scott, mayor of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, in a phone interview on April 26.