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A huge wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alta., raged through neighbourhoods Tuesday afternoon, threatening the downtown core. The entire city of 60,000 has been ordered evacuated. Residents fleeing the fire have caused gridlock on Highway 63 leading north and south out of the city.
Homes in Beacon Hill and the Centennial Trailer Park have been destroyed. As CBC Edmonton is the only radio station currently on the air in Fort McMurray, we will continue with live fire coverage through the evening. We will stay on air as long as the situation warrants.
Late Tuesday afternoon, the fire moved into the downtown core.
As someone from Louisiana who has experienced mass evacuation due to hurricanes, I can only hope things go far more smoothly for our friends in Fort McMurray.
Stock up on as much water and gas/petrol as possible but don't be greedy (Gas stations/stores usually ration out to counteract greed anyway) and start searching for accommodations as soon as possible. A hotel is a nightmare to find if you procrastinate for a second. Also prepare for the fact that when the evacuation order is lifted and you return, necessities will still be difficult to come by for several days (I usually can't get gas for at least 3 or more days and even have difficulty finding open grocery stores).
Anyway having been through this type of hell, I'd love to help even if in a small way (Like donating to Red Cross)
Actually, I read that it's over 80,000, but sadly they won't have to find places for that many people. Sounds like many people did not make it out. People are apparently huddling in the river seeking shelter. They waited too long to evacuate, and gave confusing instructions on where to go. One report said that they initially told people to take refuge downtown, but that was one of the first areas to burn. Many people saw that and turned around, but by then the streets they had used to flee were already burning. It's awfully early to be pointing fingers, but one has to wonder why they didn't have a more organized evacuation plan in place. The fire's been burning since Sunday, and they knew for some time that it was headed toward the city.
It's only a couple of hundred miles from Edmonton, though. A city that size should be able to absorb quite a lot of people in the short term, and the Canadian government will probably move quickly to set up emergency services.
Terrible tragedy, though. From some reports it sounds as though almost the entire town may be gone already. The Mounties are scouring the smoke-cloaked highways searching for stranded evacuees now. Visibility on many of the roads is essentially zero.
I was watching videos on this after they said something about it on the broadcast for the Blues-Stars hockey game. This is terrifying. I hope everybody gets out okay.
As someone from Louisiana who has experienced mass evacuation due to hurricanes, I can only hope things go far more smoothly for our friends in Fort McMurray.
Yes, unusually high temperatures for this time of year, plus very dry conditions, plus high winds, that reversed the fire's direction over night. Fort Mac is a large city for that part of the country.
The evacuation was done in stages, the first areas to be effected were on the outskirts on the west side. Within a couple of hours it became a general evacuation of all residents. The airport was still open last night, and plane loads of firefighters were landing.
Ontario and Quebec's Provincial Governments have both sent water bomber aircraft to help. These are specifically designed to be used in forest fire situations. They land on a body of water, scoop up 10,000 litres of water in less than a minute, then take off again.
This is terrible. Let this be a warning to us all. If whatever disaster out there is actually visible in the distance, don't wait for government to tell us to evacuate. Just pack up the car and go! I can't believe that one guy in the video, standing outside of his truck, while fire rages behind him, angry because "nobody is telling him what to do".
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