Fort McMurray Wildfire ‘Continues to be Very Active’, Premier Smith to Provide Update
A threatening wildfire that triggered an evacuation order for parts of Fort McMurray, Alta., on Tuesday afternoon “continues to be very active,” according to local officials. In an update posted to the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo’s website at 8 p.m. local time on Tuesday, officials said “MWF-017 remains out of control at 20,940 hectares.”
In all, about 6,600 residents from the southern part of Fort McMurray, a community of about 68,000 people, have been forced to leave their homes. The rest of Fort McMurray and a number of surrounding communities remain on an evacuation alert.
Premier Danielle Smith is scheduled to hold a news conference in Edmonton at 10:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday to provide an update on the situation.
Smith will be joined by Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen, Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis, Alberta Wildfire information unit manager Christie Tucker and Alberta Emergency Management Agency managing director Stephen Lacroix.
Another news conference is scheduled to take place at 11 a.m. local time where Wood Buffalo Mayor Sandy Bowman will speak along with several emergency officials.
In its Tuesday night update, RMWB officials noted that “the closest point of the fire is about 7.5 kilometres from the Fort McMurray landfill.” Officials added that the wildfire was about six kilometres from the intersection of Highway 63 and Highway 881.
The RMWB declared a state of local emergency Tuesday so that it can access more resources through the Emergency Management Act.
The latest information on which areas in Alberta are under an evacuation alert or order due to a wildfire can be found on the Alberta Emergency Alert 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.
More to come…
