Oil sand work camps evacuated as Alberta wildfire moves north
Source: Reuters
Technology | Mon May 16, 2016 8:51pm EDT
Oil sand work camps evacuated as Alberta wildfire moves north
CALGARY, ALBERTA | BY NIA WILLIAMS
A massive wildfire burning around the oil sands hub of Fort McMurray, Alberta, shifted north on Monday, prompting the evacuation of some 4,000 people from work camps around major oil sand projects, local officials said.
The mandatory evacuation alert covered 12 work camps north of the city, with workers being moved south and all northbound traffic once again cut off at the city, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo said.
Both Suncor Energy Inc and Syncrude Canada confirmed they had evacuated workers from the affected area.
The entire population of Fort McMurray, about 90,000 people, was forced to flee the Canadian city nearly two weeks ago as the uncontrolled wildfire raged through some neighborhoods and destroyed about 15 percent of structures.
On Monday, the blaze continued to burn uncontrolled, now covering 285,000 hectares (704,000 acres), officials said. They noted firefighting efforts will be challenging over the next couple of days with hot, dry conditions and lightning fires expected.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-wildfire-enbridge-idUSKCN0Y71ZT
