Wildfire in the city of Alberta in Canada forces evacuation of 80,000

A massive wildfire has forced evacuation of nearly 80,000 people in the Canadian city of Fort McMurray. The authorities have issued a mandatory evacuation order for the city situated in the heart of the country's oil sands region and roughly 267 miles northeast of Alberta's state capital of Edmonton.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 4 May 2016.

The city's main southern exit, Highway 63, has been closed due to the danger, and residents have to head north. The fire has now expanded to cover 2650 hectares and Alberta has asked for help from other provinces to fight the blaze and, also, airlift people from the city. Already there are nine air tankers and over a dozen helicopters and more than 100 firefighters engaged in battling the fire.
As Premier Rachel Notley has indicated - her province was experiencing the biggest evacuation in its history. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has offered the government’s support to the people of Fort McMurray.
The area of Beacon Hill had suffered significant damages, while other areas had seen light damage so far. There are no reports of any casualties or injuries.
The weather forecasters have predicted a cold front to reach the city soon and it will bring with it a stronger wind, which will make it tough for firefighters. It may be recalled that last May, wildfires had resulted in evacuation of hundreds of workers from the oil sands area. That, in turn, led to a drop in Alberta's oil sands output at the time.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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