State of emergency declared as catastrophic wildfires roar in Canada

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State of emergency declared as catastrophic wildfires roar in Canada

The Alberta province declared a state of emergency for what was shaping up to be Canada’s costliest natural disaster. Raging wildfires pressed in on the oil city of Fort McMurray Thursday after more than 80,000 people were forced to flee, abandoning fire-gutted neighborhoods in a chaotic evacuation. Officials on the scene were forced to evacuate their makeshift emergency operations center for the second time in less than a day as the flames spread south. No casualties have been reported from the monster blaze, which swept across Alberta’s oil sands region driven by strong winds and hot, dry weather. But authorities warned that the next 24 hours would be critical for the city’s survival.

It is a possibility that we may lose a large portion of the town.

Scott Long, an official with Alberta’s emergency management agency

Stretches of the highway had been converted into makeshift campgrounds by people in cars, trucks and recreation vehicles, who were fleeing the inferno. The fire is the second major blaze in the oil sands region in a year. Last May, wildfires led to the evacuation of hundreds of workers from the region, and a 9 percent cut in Alberta’s oil sands output.

This fire is absolutely devastating. It’s a loss on a scale that is hard for many of us to imagine.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau