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.
“Winds today should help push fire away from Fort McMurray,” Alberta Wildfire information unit manager Christie Tucker told reporters at a news conference in Edmonton 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 Wednesday, adding that fire crews hope to make “significant progress” on battling the blaze while wind conditions help. “Of course winds can change.”
In an update posted just before 9 a.m. on Wednesday, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo said the out-of-control MWF-017 fire was about 21,000 hectares in size.
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.
In a post on its website, the RMWB said wildfire evacuees who were forced to leave their homes on Tuesday “can expect to be evacuated until at least Tuesday, May 21.”
“Until the evacuation order is lifted, it’s not safe to return to the neighbourhoods of Prairie Creek, Abasand, Beacon Hill and Grayling Terrace,” municipal officials said, noting it is possible the evacuation order could remain in place beyond May 21.
Smoke in Fort McMurray from a nearby wildfire on May 15, 2024. Courtesy: Elizabeth Campbell.
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.”
Premier Danielle Smith (left) speaks at a news conference in Edmonton on May 15, 2024. Smith was joined by Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen (centre), Alberta Wildfire information unit manager Christie Tucker and others to provide an update on the wildfire situation in Alberta.
Motorcycle accident toronto today
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.”
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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.”
Wednesday morning, RMWB officials noted that the fire had moved so that it was situated about 4.5 kilometres from the intersection of Highway 63 and Highway 881 and that it was about 5.5 kilometres away from a landfill site in the area.
“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.”
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.”
“Fire behaviour will be subdued in the morning, with an inversion layer holding the smoke layer close to the ground. This inversion will likely break by noon, and the sun will dry out the fuels that received that precipitation and will be available to burn again this afternoon.”
Alberta Wildfire officials expect cooler temperatures and weaker winds mean the fire’s behaviour should be less active on Wednesday compared to the day before.
Additional heavy equipment operators have arrived to provide support on MWF017, the wildfire just outside Fort McMurray, on May 15, 2024.
Courtesy: Alberta Wildfire
There were 117 firefighters and 14 helicopters assigned to the wildfire as of Wednesday morning, Alberta Wildfire said.
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.
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.
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 the city 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.
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.
