Close X
Saturday, January 11, 2025
ADVT 
National

Alberta Bringing In Extra Firefighters To Gain Upper Hand On Fort McMurray Fire

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 21 May, 2016 01:14 PM
    EDMONTON — A massive wildfire that destroyed parts of Fort McMurray hasn't grown in size in the forest around the city and officials are planning a surge of firefighters in the coming days to try to gain the upper hand.
     
    Alberta senior wildfire manager Chad Morrison said Friday cooler temperatures, higher humidity and a forecast for rain have allowed the government to safely put more boots on the ground.
     
    "From a firefighting perspective we hope to hold this fire in place over the weekend," Morrison said. "Even if we don't get rain, the firefighters and our resources out there are making great progress. These are great firefighting days for us.
     
    "As every day goes by, we continue to run this thing down and continue to secure it."
     
    The province plans to bring in an extra 1,000 firefighters over the next two weeks, adding to 1,100 already on the ground, Morrison said.
     
    Many will come from a pool of Alberta crews who had been spelled off earlier in the month. The rest will come from other jurisdictions. 
     
    The blaze is already about 5,000 square kilometres in size, with nearly eight square kilometres st
     
     
    More than 2,400 buildings were destroyed in Fort McMurray earlier this month and the northeastern Alberta city remains under a mandatory evacuation order.
     
    Major oilsands operation to the north of the city, including Suncor and Syncrude, were also placed on mandatory evacuation earlier this week when the fire pushed in that direction and destroyed a work camp.
     
    Late Friday, the Rural Municipality of Wood Buffalo announced those evacuation orders had been lifted. Workers at Suncor, Syncrude, Millennium, Borealis, Hudson, Noralta and Ruth Lake camps would be allowed back immediately.
     
    There was also some good news from Imperial Oil on Friday. The company announced it has restarted limited operations at its Kearl oilsands site.
     
    The province is hoping to have the more than 80,000 evacuees from the city return to the region starting June 1, providing certain safety benchmarks can be met.
     
    The government has been giving out preloaded debt cards to evacuees to help with immediate expenses and the Red Cross has also been distributing electronic money transfer. Schreiber acknowledged that there have been reports of some people trying to take advantage of that system. Police are following up on those cases.
     
     
    "In general, it is an extremely small number," said Shane Schreiber, assistant deputy minister with the Alberta Emergency Management Agency. "We've had a handful of reports of this activity going on."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Victoria's Medical Marijuana Bylaw Deflects Concerns About Edible Pot

    Victoria's Medical Marijuana Bylaw Deflects Concerns About Edible Pot
      The bylaw will also keep the dispensaries 200 metres away from schools and licensed daycares.

    Victoria's Medical Marijuana Bylaw Deflects Concerns About Edible Pot

    Sentence Ending For Medicine Hat Woman Who Murdered Her Family When She Was 12

    Sentence Ending For Medicine Hat Woman Who Murdered Her Family When She Was 12
    The woman is now 22, but can't be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

    Sentence Ending For Medicine Hat Woman Who Murdered Her Family When She Was 12

    Edmonton Won't Try To Lasso More Canadian Finals Rodeo Events: Mayor

    Edmonton Won't Try To Lasso More Canadian Finals Rodeo Events: Mayor
    A deadline to bid for a 10-year contract to hold the Canadian Finals Rodeo has come and gone.

    Edmonton Won't Try To Lasso More Canadian Finals Rodeo Events: Mayor

    PM Justin Trudeau Apologizes For Blaming Opposition Parties For Electoral Reform Delay

    Justin Trudeau has apologized for suggesting opposition parties are to blame for the delay in setting up a parliamentary committee on electoral reform.

    PM Justin Trudeau Apologizes For Blaming Opposition Parties For Electoral Reform Delay

    Self-Driving Cars Could Be On Roads In 5 Years

    Self-Driving Cars Could Be On Roads In 5 Years
     Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne says working with Google convinced him that self-driving technology is closer than he thought and could be on the road in five years.

    Self-Driving Cars Could Be On Roads In 5 Years

    Justin Trudeau Invited 44 People, Including Mom, To Accompany Him To Washington

    Justin Trudeau Invited 44 People, Including Mom, To Accompany Him To Washington
    OTTAWA — Justin Trudeau took a small army of 44 people with him for a three-day visit to Washington last March, at a cost of more than $25,000.

    Justin Trudeau Invited 44 People, Including Mom, To Accompany Him To Washington