Massive Alberta Wildfire Enters Saskatchewan

Fort McMurray wildfire is almost the size of Delaware

The massive forest fire that devastated Fort McMurray, Alta., has now crossed the border into Saskatchewan, said Canadian officials.

The ferocious fire had devoured 505,645 hectares of forest as of Thursday morning local time, and expanded east of the border, burning 771 hectares in Saskatchewan, according to fire officials.

The fire is said to be about 30km from the nearest village, La Loche.

The latest Canadian Wildland Fire Information System map indicates the Fort McMurray fire has entered Saskatchewan at two points. However, the Saskatchewan government insists the southern part is actually a brand new, 40-hectare fire, said a report.

“One of the new fires, which covers 40 hectares, started close to the Fort McMurray fire on the Saskatchewan-Alberta border sometime during the evening on May 18.”

Fort McMurray Wildfire Could Double in Size by Tonight: Govt

The 101,000-hectare fire could double in size by tonight amid 27-dgree temp. and 40-kmph wind gusts

The massive blaze claiming Fort McMurray had grown to at least 101,000 hectares, as of posting, and was  moving northeast, away from the community, senior wildfire manager Chad Morrison told reporters.

Meanwhile, another wildfire in Manitoba province, one of the large blazes burning on the eastern border with Ontario, has prompted the provincial government to issue a Mandatory evacuation order.

The following update on wildfire situation, is mirrored from the Alberta

• People who have been displaced will be provided with $1,250 peradult and $500 per dependant in emergency financial assistance. This will probably be provided in the form of pre-loaded debit cards. Details on when this assistance will be available and how to get access to it will be announced by May 11, 2016. Government of Alberta offices will not have additional information until that time. When details are available they will be posted on emergency.alberta.ca and available through 310-4455. In order to allow for immediate distribution to people most urgently in need of this assistance, we are asking evacuees who are not in dire need of these funds not to claim them immediately.
• The Disaster Recovery Program (DRP) will allocate an initial $200 million for emergency costs. Disaster recovery programs provide financial assistance for municipalities and their citizens who incur uninsurable loss and damage as a result of a disastrous event. This amount was already included in Budget 2016 to cover emergency events.
• The Wood Buffalo Ministerial Recovery Task Force has been established to:
  • ensure safety and security in the affected areas;
  • support the needs of the communities;
  • plan the timely re-entry of residents when it is safe to do so; and
  • support the resumption of municipal, economic and business activities.
• Convoys of vehicles were temporarily halted at about 1 p.m. today due to wildfire smoke on Highway 63 south of Fort McMurray. They resumed about an hour later. Traffic is flowing south on Highway 63 from the Parsons Creek Interchange under RCMP control.
• Fire conditions remain extreme, with 12 new starts across Alberta yesterday. A total of 40 wildfires are burning, with five out of control, eight being held, 21 under control and six turned over to the responsible parties.
• A provincewide ban on the use of off-highway vehicles, due to the risk these vehicles pose in the very dry conditions Alberta is experiencing, is in effect.
• A provincial fire ban remains in effect across Alberta. All fire permits are suspended and no new permits will be issued. All open fires, including campfires and charcoal briquettes, are prohibited.
• Temperatures in the high teens and winds gusting up to 40 kilometres per hour will make firefighting challenging.
• More than 1,200 firefighters, approximately 110 helicopters, 295 pieces of heavy equipment and more than 27 air tankers are fighting the fires across the province.
• Fort McMurray, Anzac, Gregoire Lake Estates and Fort McMurray First Nation remain under a mandatory evacuation order.

Related Links

• BC Wildfires Spark Evacuation Order, State of Emergency near Fort St. John May 6, 2016
• Fort McMurray Wildfire Expected to Keep Growing: Officials May 6, 2016
• Fort McMurray Wildfire has Destroyed 1,600 Buildings: Alberta Premier May 5, 2016
• Wildfire Forces Evacuation Order for 60,000+ in Fort McMurray, Canada May 4, 2016

Fort McMurray Wildfire Expected to Keep Growing: Officials

UPDATED: 09:30UTC Fri May 6, 2016

“Fire conditions remain extreme, with 18 new starts across Alberta yesterday. A total of 49 wildfires are burning, with seven considered out of control, 12 being held, 23 under control, and seven turned over to the responsible parties,” said Alberta Government.

Damage to Fort McMurray “Extensive,” the City “Unsafe” for Residents: Alberta Premier 

The explosive blaze, which erupted on Sunday, had grown to about 90,000 hectares by Thursday.

• State of Emergency continues across in the disaster area across Fort McMurray and surrounding communities.
• Mandatory Mass Evacuations of about 88,000 residents are nearly completed.
  
• The residents will not be able to return home anytime soon, officials have warned.
• The fire has destroyed thousands of structures in the city.
• “The damage to the community of Fort McMurray is extensive and the city is not safe for residents,” said Alberta Premier Rachel Notley Thursday evening.
• The flames are spreading to the communities of Anzac and Gregoire Lake Estates and posing “extreme threat” to the areas south and southeast of Fort McMurray, as of Thursday evening (local time).

UPDATE:

Fort McMurray Wildfire creating its own weather, lightning

“The wildfire threatening to engulf the city has become so powerful it has created its own firestorm,” reported CBC.

The powerful firestorm has created its own weather system, funneling smoke and particulates high into the stratosphere, and generating powerful lightning strikes, sad the report.

“They tend to promote their own kind of conditions,” said a meteorologist for Environment Canada.

“That’s why you’ll see the winds near fires … that are significantly stronger that the surrounding atmosphere.”

FIRE-EARTH Disaster Models estimate the direct damage costs from the fire at $5 billion, based on the data available, as of posting.  [Total damage costs could easily exceed $10 billion.]

Related Links

• Fort McMurray Wildfire has Destroyed 1,600 Buildings: Alberta Premier May 5, 2016
• Wildfire Forces Evacuation Order for 60,000+ in Fort McMurray, Canada May 4, 2016

• LIVE BLOG: Breaking updates on the Fort McMurray wildfire [CBC]

 

Fort McMurray Wildfire has Destroyed 1,600 Buildings: Alberta Premier

State of Emergency Declared in Alberta

Mandatory Mass Evacuations: 88,000 residents flee Fort McMurray, surrounding communities

The explosive wildfire that is raging around Fort McMurray, the Canadian oil city in the provice of Alberta, has consumed about 8,000 hectares so far,  destroying 1,600 structures in the city, said Alberta Premier Rachel Notley.

“There’s been fairly significant destruction of residences,” she told reporters in Edmonton on Wednesday.

“We’re looking at roughly 1,600 structures at this point, so we’ve begun conversations with our federal partners about work that will need to be done with respect to restoration and recovery once the fire is brought under control.”

• Communities south of Fort McMurray order to leave as wildfire advances
• LIVE BLOG: Breaking updates on the Fort McMurray wildfire

“We successfully evacuated 88,000 people,” fire Chief Darby Allen said at a news conference.  “No one is hurt and no one has passed away.”

Fort McMurray effectively cut off from the rest of Alberta 

“Currently that fire, at Airport Road and Highway 63  … has jumped both sides of the road, and traffic is no longer moving north or south,” a city official said on Wednesday evening.

Morning dawns on the widespread devastation in Beacon Hill, where 80 per cent of homes were lost. (Sylvain Bascaron/CBC)

Related Links

• Wildfire Forces Evacuation Order for 60,000+ in Fort McMurray, Canada May 4, 2016

Fort McMurray: The Most Polluted Place in N. America

AQI reached a high of 456 in Fort McMurray , Alberta, Canada

The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Fort McMurray [pop: ~ 80,000] reached a hazardous high of 456 Monday night local time, the highest in North America, and was hovering in the “Very Unhealthy” territory, as of posting.

“Fort Muck,” as the city is also referred to, has been described as a “place of sex, drugs, violence, homelessness, massive trucks, polluted air and contaminated water.”

PM2.5 Pollution Level

AQi Values of 300 or greater are considered “Hazardous,” the highest health threat level on the EPA scale. This would trigger health warnings of emergency conditions because it puts the entire population at risk.

“Fueling Epidemics of Syphilis and HIV”

“The sex trade in Fort McMurray has kept pace with the booming oil industry, and goes hand in hand with the increase in hard drug use,” said a report, citing a Coordinator for the Council of Canadians.

“The drug of choice changed overnight, from pot to coke,” said the coordinator.

I’ve had boys barely out of high school come into my office freaked out over their sexual identities after getting drunk and having gay sex for the first time, and often unprotected. It’s just plain sad to see.

Does everyone do it [engage in high risk sexual behavior and drug use]? No, but the fact is we have a Syphilis outbreak in this province, and these workers go back to where they are from and it spreads. There are health centers at the work sights, but people don’t go to them for fear that it’ll get back to their employers. It’s an unacceptable situation, but the municipality has bigger things to think about and so the problem is not dealt with effectively.

Related Links

• A Tale of Two Cities: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Fort McMurray

[The link is provided for information only. FIRE-EARTH is not associated with Oil Sands Truth.]

Suncor lives to pollute another day!

Suncor slapped with ‘parking ticket fine’

A Canadian court ordered  Suncor Energy Inc and its contractor to pay C$1 million ($800k) in fines on Thursday for environmental violations at the company’s northern Alberta oil sands operations, Reuters reported.

[Where’s the justice in this world? McDonald’s no doubt wants to know. The company was fined $2.9 million for second and third degree burns sustained by a woman who spilled hot coffee on herself.]

“Suncor, Canada’s No. 2 oil sands producer, will pay C$675,000 for failing to install pollution control equipment at its Firebag steam-driven oil sands operation near Fort McMurray, Alberta, and then keeping that information from provincial environmental authorities.” Said the report.

The violations occurred during 2006 and 2007 when deadly hydrogen sulfide [suicide gas] was released into the atmosphere, according to the Alberta environment ministry.

“The company had committed to installing the equipment in its application to develop the Firebag project, where steam is pumped into the ground to loosen up tar-like bitumen, allowing it to be pumped to the surface in wells.” Reuters said.

Suncor and one of its contractors, Compass Group Canada Ltd, were also found guilty for yet another violation by a Fort McMurray court, which fined the two a total of  C$400,000 for releasing wastewater into the Athabasca River from 2005 and 2007.

“The subcontractor pleaded guilty to falsifying information and mismanaging the facility.” [That’s what the fall guys are for!]

“The ministry said Suncor and Compass were unaware of the falsification [that’s the stuff friendly ministries are made of,] but Suncor was fined C$175,000 for failing to supervise Compass and Compass was fined C$225,000 for failing to report the subcontractor’s violations.”

The payment compares with the Exxon Valdez fine, admittedly a bigger disaster than the Suncor legacy,  which even after it was slashed, still stood at $500million [Exxon claimed to have spent $3.4 billion to compensate victims, clean up the spill, and pay settlements and fines.]

Is that because of the fundamental differences that exist between the US and Canadian courts?
(Forex rate: $1=$1.25 Canadian)

Related Links:

• US Govt Sues BP America
• Large spill at Canada’s oil sands terminal
• Canada Makes Pollution Progress
• Syncrude duck deaths now triple initial tally
• Buffet the Climate!

Large spill at Canada’s oil sands terminal

Deaths and Oil Spills: Hallmarks of Enbridge Inc, Canada

Enbridge Inc, Canada’s 2nd largest pipeline company, confirmed 4,000 barrels of oil spewed out of its oil storage facility in northern Alberta on Saturday.

Flames and smoke rise above Enbridge’s oil pipeline fire that killed two workers near Enbridge Energy Partners terminal in Clearbrook, Minn., November 28, 2007.  In April 2007, the same pipeline ruptured in Saskatchewan. Enbridge has reported two other leaks in its Canadian lines since 2001. (Eric Hylden/Grand Forks Herald/Associated Press). Image may be subject to copyright.

The company sends oilsands crude to the U.S. through its pipelines.  A spokesperson for Calgary-based Enbridge blamed a valve failure for the spill which reportedly occurred  at its Cheecham terminal south of Fort McMurray, Alberta.

Syncrude Oil Sand Mine, Alberta, Canada. The Mildred Lake facility. The yellow structures in front of the tailings pond are sulfur stockpiles; the extraction plant is just to the right of this photograph and most of the mine lies to the left. Source

In May 2008, at least 500 hundred migratory ducks died after landing on an oilsands tailings pond at Syncrude’s Aurora North Site mine, north of Fort McMurray.