Smoke from wildfires burning 16 kilometres southwest of Fort McMurray on May 11, 2024.Supplied/Getty Images
A wildfire near Fort McMurray, Alta., almost quadrupled in size over the weekend, as dry conditions fuelled the blaze and brought back painful memories of one of the country’s costliest disasters eight years ago.
On late Friday, local officials put residents of northern Alberta’s oil sands industry hub and several nearby communities on alert to evacuate in case the out-of-control fire threatens populated areas. It was burning 16 kilometres southeast of Fort McMurray on Sunday, though favourable winds pushed it away from the city for now.
It was one of several forest fires across Western Canada, as the wildfire season kicked into gear. Fires in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba have already forced thousands of people to flee dangerous conditions that threaten their communities and sent firefighters into action to try to get the upper hand.
The alert for Fort McMurray and surrounding areas made for an unsettling weekend for Chris Steedman, whose home in the Stone Creek neighbourhood burned down in the 2016 fire known as “The Beast.” Mr. Steedman and his young family fled the city along with more than 80,000 other residents as flames roared into the city that spring. Large chunks of communities were destroyed.
Back then, the Steedmans grabbed what they could and spent their first night camped out at the Syncrude Canada Ltd. oil sands plant north of Fort McMurray, then travelled south to Edmonton. Their city was off-limits for weeks that spring, as crews repaired and restarted basic services and made sure it was safe to return.
The family rebuilt their home on the same lot, and now the possibility of fire danger is fuelling stress.
“My wife asked me if I have PTSD, seriously, because I’m constantly checking the news, checking the wildfire app, to see where we are,” Mr. Steedman said. “But with my personality, I’m just the kind of person who doesn’t like waiting for events to happen. I want the fire out, or I want it to do its thing, because I can’t sit around waiting.”
The evacuation alert includes the nearby community of Saprae Creek, the Gregoire Lake Estates neighbourhood to the south, as well as Anzac, Rickards Landing Industrial Park and Fort McMurray First Nation #468.
“Overall it’s been an eerie feeling, but kind of a familiar one as well from 2016,” said Cindy Miller, band manager for the First Nation and its director of emergency management, a position she also held during the wildfires eight years ago.
The First Nation issued an alert before the city did, and has tried to keep its members calm, she said.
“We wanted to make sure our residents were aware so they are ready, prepared, should it turn into an evacuation.”
In 2016, most of the community of about 350 people fled a day after Fort McMurray residents did, so they were unable to secure blocks of hotel rooms in Edmonton, and in the mad scramble were spread out across the province. This time around, officials have booked a big block of rooms in Lac La Biche, to the south, Ms. Miller said.
On Sunday, the fire had expanded to 5,501 hectares, about 55 square kilometres. It had not threatened populated areas, and a shift in wind direction looked set to push it away from the city, said Melissa Story, the information officer for Alberta Wildfire.
“The fire grew significantly yesterday, so we did see it take a bit of a run to the southeast. It’s moved kind of underneath the city of Fort McMurray,” Ms. Story said. Six firefighting crews were attacking the blaze, aided by heavy equipment and helicopters, she said.
It had been headed toward Highway 63, the main thoroughfare into Fort McMurray and one of Alberta’s business highways, though the shifting winds looked set to direct it away from the road, she said. The highway was a lifeline in 2016 as the city’s residents fled to points south.
About 2,400 homes and other buildings were destroyed in that disaster, and damages hit $9.9-billion. Since then, numerous fireguards and other protection measures have been put in place, Ms. Story said.
The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, which includes Fort McMurray, has had less precipitation than other parts of Alberta. Environment Canada forecast a possibility of rain early this week, calling for a 60-per-cent chance Monday night.
“I know everyone’s feeling unsettled and stressed right now. Our community knows all too well how this feels, but our past experience also means we are very well prepared for whatever comes our way,” said Sandy Bowman, the mayor of Wood Buffalo, in a video message posted on social media.
The inferno is one of several in what is shaping up to be another active wildfire season in the West, though it has yet to approach last year’s devastation. The changing climate may not be sparking the fires, but scientists say it is creating the hot and dry conditions necessary for them to take hold and expand.
In B.C., residents of Fort Nelson and Fort Nelson First Nation were told to evacuate on Friday, as the Parker Lake wildfire threatened those communities. The order affects more than 3,000 people. On Sunday that fire had grown to 2,483 hectares, and was just 3.5 kilometres west of Fort Nelson.
A second blaze in Alberta dubbed the Teepee Creek fire was out of control near Grande Prairie in the province’s northwest, and was covering 1,382 hectares. The County of Grande Prairie and Municipal District of Greenview issued an evacuation order for two regions on Friday, though it was not known how many people are affected.
In Manitoba, a blaze near Flin Flon prompted the evacuation of Cranberry Portage, a village of about 600 people. The fire has closed a highway and is causing intermittent power outages, officials said. Another fire is out of control near the town of The Pas.
With files from Frédérik-Xavier Duhamel
Jeffrey Jones