88,000 flee as major wildfire breaks out at Fort McMurray, Canada

[raregem]

Posted by Bob (here)
Animated spread map from start to present - look at the massive blowup recently happening -

Posted by KiwiElf (here)
The area affected is now bigger than Florida

The fire animation from May 5, 6, 7 seemed to have jumped to areas instead of spreading. The fire that began on May 6 -above Gordan Lake seems far fetched for a jump. Hard to say. Could these be set deliberately to create the mass connections with the fires?

[Bob]

https://projectavalon.net/forum4/show...=1#post1068953 (by DedukShyn) and

Hervé in post https://projectavalon.net/forum4/show...=1#post1069154 were
noticing the growth - then BOOM - massive winds hit the area, pushing the fire heavily north - probably swirling too, kicking up embers and fanning them - starting new fire front-lines.

Could it be being deliberately spread? Maybe. No reports of who exactly is in the area. Was it deliberately started, an accident, "Act of God", an oops?

The spread north has it appears to have engulfed two of the SunCor facilities (Baseplant and a SunCor housing facility).. It has taken out the Chinese Facility early on at Long Lake.

[East Sun]

i would not rule out HAARP... they were not just based in Alaska but in various places around the worldand
can effect anywhere in the world.........

[Bob]

Better news for Saturday -

The fire did not grow overnight, and remains at the same size Saturday morning and has not had additional impact on oil facilities, said Alberta wildfire information officer Laura Stewart.

Eager to get back to making $$, Suncor said on Facebook that a limited crew will be back at some of its sites on Monday at the earliest.

Syncrude, is majority-owned company of Suncor.

It has not publicly announced their startup timeline. It has not been stated (by the companies) when either company will restart production.

Authorities have removed evacuation orders of the Syncrude and Suncor facilities, north of Fort McMurray because of the rain and cooler temperatures.

(Link)

--------------------------------

There is a "new" problem in Ft. McMurray - black bears.

Without securing the left human food sources during and after evacuation, the black bears have smelled what constitutes food (garbage, refuse), human supplies now spoiling in the grocery stores, and refrigerators..

What such is doing is telling the bears that this location is now a prime area to obtain food. Meaning when the humans return, there will be an increase in bear incidents.

What usually happens is the bears loose, end up being shot. If there is time, some may be captured, and relocated.

With such a load during rebuilding, there apparently will be no place for bears roaming around within the towns.

(Bears Roaming link)

[avid]

Poor bears, poor wildlife... this is horrendous, all for greed and profit. I am now convinced this is a deliberate globalist corporate manipulation of oil prices. Bob, I hope you are not right that certain wind-changes save some and trash others. The whole thing stinks - engineer rain asap.... if not WHY NOT?

[Bob]

Calgary, report on the WildFire situation in Alberta

(Source)

The 'general' feeling is "conditions are improving". Light rains have been in the area.

Fire Information Officer, Laura Stewart says moisture, so far, has been minimal:

“There was approximately 3mm of rain that was received on the western portion of the wildfire, in addition to 2mm of rain that was received on Saturday.

We will need a significant amount of rain to fall in the Fort McMurray area to recover from the state that the wildfire hazard is in. It’s extreme at the moment.

There hasn’t been a lot of rain, but the temperatures are cooler.”

Despite the lack of rain, Stewart says that lower temperatures, higher humidity and calm winds will allow crews to make good progress in battling the wildfire that still burns out of control.

A phased return to Fort McMurray starting June 1st is being put together by the RM of Wood Buffalo. (see link)

The situation

Currently

• Fire conditions remain extreme in northeastern Alberta.
• The Fort McMurray wildfire remains out of control. It is estimated to cover 522,892 hectares, including 2,496 hectares in Saskatchewan.
• A total of 16 wildfires are burning, with one out of control.
• A fire estimated at 146 hectares in size, and located eight kilometres west of Janvier, is being held. No new evacuations have been ordered at this time.
• There are 1,934 firefighters, 102 helicopters, 255 pieces of heavy equipment and 25 air tankers currently battling the fires.
• ATCO employees are on the ground restoring critical utility infrastructure. Gas service has been restored to about 90 per cent of undamaged structures in Fort McMurray. Electricity has been restored to more than 90 per cent of undamaged structures in the community.
• Fort McMurray, Anzac, Gregoire Lake Estates, Fort McMurray First Nation and Fort McKay First Nation remain under a mandatory evacuation order.
• The phased re-entry for all oil sands camps in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is underway.

[Bob]

Now over 580,000 hectares and climbing - still classed 'out of control'

The Fort McMurray wildfire has spread into parts of Saskatchewan.

More fire-fighting crews are arriving to assist.

Statistics

Currently, 2,267 firefighters are either already battling blazes across Alberta or are en route to do so.

Over 800 of those firefighters are from out of province, including almost 500 from outside of Canada (298 firefighters from South Africa and 199 from the United States).

They are being supported with the help of 95 helicopters, 263 pieces of heavy equipment and 24 air tankers.

(Link)

Fort McMurray Airport - Commercial air service is tentatively scheduled to resume at the Fort McMurray International Airport on June 10.



Re-Entry Schedule

[Bob]

SunCor has restarted operations at the "Firebag InSitu Facility" (mined in place fields).

Start-up activities were also underway at the base plant and MacKay River in situ operation, and they should be on-line later this week as long as long as conditions do not deteriorate.

Suncor and other oil sands producers north of Fort McMurray curtailed operations as wildfires seared through the town and then northward over the past three weeks. They are now in the process of returning to normal production.

Suncor moved more than 4,000 employees and contractors back into the region, including Fort Hills workers, and anticipates that over the coming week it will move approximately 3,500 additional people to support the return to operations. Likewise, production at Syncrude is imminent.

Construction activities at Suncor’s Fort Hills mine have continued to ramp up and it is expected that the Fort Hills workforce will return to its full complement this week.

links:
http://www.suncor.com/about-us/oil-sands/process
http://www.canadianminingjournal.com...rts-production

http://www.canadianminingjournal.com...a-firefighters - African firefighters will give the Canadian firefighters a two week relief by being part of the force fighting the wildfire. The team came from several African Nations (mainly South Africa) who have agreed to assist Canada.

http://wildfiretoday.com/2016/05/25/48147/

[Bob]

Update - http://www.630ched.com/2016/06/09/108787/

Still burning, residents returning to Ft. McMurray.

Nearly 71% contained.

The fire now covers over 568 thousand hectares, including the Saskatchewan side, and crews have completed 535 kilmometres of dozer guard.

This is the only wildfire out of control of the 20 wildfires that are burning in Alberta.

Meanwhile, some Friday flights to Fort McMurray are being cancelled to keep airspace clear over the blaze for firefighting.

The airport has said be aware that flights may be delayed or cancelled due to conditions.

[Bob]

Putting the tar-sands "Bitumen" into the pipelines means it needs solvents, plus high temperatures to keep it flowing. With production efforts shut down, it changes back to hard tar, clogging up the pipes. Therefore when analysts took a look they said it's not going to be that easy to restart operations.

FirstEnergy Capital estimates the industry’s production loss at $1.4-billion, while Nick Lupick, an analyst for AltaCorp Capital, puts the value of the losses so far at almost $1.6-billion. Both said Wednesday that they expect their numbers to grow.

“It sounds like there have been some pipeline clogging issues on some of these projects,” said King. “I guess when the bitumen cooled it hardened and so they’re having trouble getting stuff down these pipes right now.”

Lost oilsands production from the Fort McMurray wildfire could top 30 million barrels.

The wildfire is being held in place is the current report.

Alberta Agriculture and Forestry is reviewing its response to the wildfire that burned through parts of Wood Buffalo and the city of Fort McMurray in early May.

The 590,000-hectare blaze – referred to as the Horse River Wildfire – forced the evacuation of roughly 80,000 people in Fort McMurray on May 3.

The review will look at the department’s wildfire preparation and readiness up to May 31, 2016 and the steps taken to respond to the massive fire.

The cause of the blaze – which is believed to be the result of human activity – will not be the subject of the review.

http://globalnews.ca/news/2762002/rc...-was-criminal/

Mounties said for the first time Tuesday the Fort McMurray wildfire was “most likely the result of human activity” and is now asking the public for assistance as they investigate what caused the massive blaze.

“That doesn’t mean that that’s necessarily arson,” RCMP Insp. Gibson Glavin said Tuesday before adding that if the fire does turn out to have been deliberately set, the RCMP could pursue charges.

“If we do find a criminal cause, and if we do identify the person or persons who deliberately caused it, arson is a charge within the Criminal Code of Canada, a very serious charge, particularly if it potentially puts live and property at danger.

The fire has been burning for over six weeks as of Tuesday and RCMP said a joint investigation with wildfire investigators has ruled out lightning as a probable cause.

The Investigation

According to police, the blaze, officially referred to as “MWF-009”, broke out about 15 kilometres southwest of Fort McMurray and was first spotted from the air on May 1 by a forestry crew.

Police are looking to speak with anyone who was using the Horse River Trail System between April 29 and May 5.

Glavin said many people may think they have no meaningful information to offer police, but highlighted the importance of calling the RCMP anyway.

“That would be completely natural, to think, ‘I don’t have anything to offer. I don’t really know what I saw.’ No, you’re exactly who we want to talk to.”

Ed Rostalski, a veteran fire investigator who worked on the Slave Lake fire and now works for Global Forensics Inc., said whether the investigation reveals the fire was deliberately set or simply the result of human error – like carelessly tossing a cigarette – minute pieces of evidence could be crucial in breaking the case.

“They’ll be looking for glass, they’ll be looking for debris…they may even find something as simple as a cigarette,” he said. “When you’re putting a puzzle together, the smallest little piece of information could be the key to everything.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the RCMP’s wildfire investigation phone line at 1-844-620-9826 or to submit an anonymous tip by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

http://srd.web.alberta.ca/fort-mcmurray-area-update - updates

[Gaia]

Battling the Beast: The untold story of the fight to save Fort McMurray and the teams they commanded fought hard, and without much outside help because Trudeau protected first the oil companies installations (Suncor).


Till today, no contaminants were found in soil sampling like asbestos and there is a low-level concentrations of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs).

Strange facts:

http://www.mymcmurray.com/2016/07/11...nitoring-maps/


The epic wildfire that threatened Fort McMurray in early May was beaten back by quick-thinking decision-makers. But that doesn't mean they don't have regrets.


Story from CBC, hope you enjoy this report and the courage of this peoples involved in. The photos are stunning :


http://www.cbc.ca/interactives/longf...urray-wildfire

[DeDukshyn]

 
I was hearing this was the largest insurable natural disaster in Canadian history - something like $350 billion in damages ... Although I assume that includes oil production downtime losses as well,hence the use of the word "insurable" in the report. I would imagine big oil has insurance for everything.

[DeDukshyn]

Ft McMurray wildfire is finally officially completely extinguished ... finally. Gives you an idea of the life these things can take on their own.

http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada...id=mailsignout

That good news said, British Columbia has had the worst wildfire history ever recorded this year. with many populated areas requiring evacuation and much property loss. My mother who lives in the BC interior is currently on evacuation alert for the second time while having been evacuated from her home once earlier this year as a fire threatened the town of 100 mile house.

I did visit the BC interior area while on vacation this year and my son has some pictures and video of some of the damage that was just mere miles from the town -- I'll post if I ever get those from him ...

For most of BC and southern Alberta it has been a record breaking year for extreme heat and lack of rain. Just last night the low temperature in Calgary was 19C and previous day 33C (50f and 91.5 respectively) This has been the norm for most of this summer, but not normal for this part of Canada. I don't recall ever having as hot or dry of summer as I saw this year. The vast majority of days weather forecast in southern alberta and BC have bee "smoke" with air quality advisories; as there is yet again today for Calgary ...