![]() ![]() Neighbouring communities, First Nations and oil camps also left, while more firefighters arrived from the United States, Australia, Mexico and South Africa. Wildfires merged and the flames continued to spread, reaching 85,000 hectares, then 100,000 hectares, and then 150,000 – still a fraction of the 580,000 hectares it would become. READ MORE: Fire in Fort McMurray continues to spread, provincial state of emergency called.In total, about 2,400 buildings would be burnt to the ground. ![]() READ MORE: ‘It’s surreal’: Woman who lost everything in Fort McMurray wildfireīy Wednesday, the size of the blaze in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo – located in the heart of the Athabasca oil sands – had reached between 7,500 and 10,000 hectares, stubbornly ignoring firefighting efforts.Īlready, neighbourhoods had been decimated, with the communities of Waterways, Beacon Hill and Abasand hit first and hardest.READ MORE: ‘Sad day’: Tens of thousands evacuated from Fort McMurray due to wildfire.READ MORE: Crews in northern Alberta still fighting massive wildfire near Fort McMurray.“It’s a sad day for everyone in Fort McMurray," commented regional fire chief Darby Allen. Some communities had already been evacuated prior to May 3, 2016, but that Tuesday, officials decided they could not guarantee the safety of any Fort McMurray resident from a fire eventually dubbed "The Beast." It had doubled in size in a manner of hours that morning, and at one point crossed Highway 63, the only major evacuation route south. Five years ago, some 80,000 northern Albertans in Fort McMurray left home, likely terrified of the threat facing their community but with no way of knowing just how devastating it would be. ![]()
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