Wildfires in Fort McMurray Alberta

[byo]

Forecast for Fort Mac for Sat through Mon is 'showers'. They're going to need more than showers to slow this monster down, not to mention that if they are thunder showers, there is the risk of lightening making things worse.

Fort McMurray wildfire creates its own lightning
When fires get big enough, they begin to create weather systems of their own, expert says
Last Updated: May 05, 2016 1:33 PM MT

The wildfire threatening to engulf the city has become so powerful it has created its own firestorm.

Brian Proctor, a warning preparedness meteorologist for Environment Canada, says when fires get big enough, they begin to create weather systems of their own.

These firestorms are a powerful force. They can alter weather patterns, funnel smoke and particulates high into the stratosphere, and produce powerful lightning strikes.

 

[ilovepierre]

The fire is now 85,000 hectares, or 850 sq km, which is larger than the city of Calgary.

It has grown five times its initial size since it broke out, prompting more than 88,000 evacuations.

The fire started on Sunday in Canada's oil sands region and many oil sands projects have cut production.

The emergency operations centre has moved 300 km south and the evacuation order has widened as the flames spread past Fort McMurray.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/36215046?client=safari#

Crazy!
Really puts into perspective just how large this fire is.

 

[Sillybilly]

The RCMP are escorting 50 vehicles at a time southbound on Highway 63, with pilot cars at the front and rear of the line and four Griffin helicopters following overhead to watch for threats. An estimated 1,500 vehicles are lined up to make the drive through the city, to about 20 kilometres south of it. Vehicles are not allowed to stop for any reason along the route, the RCMP said in a news release. All intersections have been blocked off so no one can make a wrong turn along the route ...

... Mallet suggested there may be far more evacuees trapped north of the city than officials are saying – as many as 40,000, he said.

"They're trying to keep the numbers low because they're afraid what will happen if that fire goes north," he said. "You got nowhere to hide."

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/evacue...-mcmurray-1.2890603?google_editors_picks=true

 

[byo]

✔BC Edmonton ‏@CBCEdmonton 5m5 minutes ago

Downtown largely intact, hospital intact, water plant up and running. Line is held "for most part" in residential areas.


✔660 NEWS Calgary ‏@660NEWS 18m18 minutes ago

Notley: fire still out of control, covers over 101,000 hectares - reached Anzac, Long Lake but both are mostly intact. #ymmfire



‎

 

[byo]

CBC Canadian News ‏@CBCCanada 2h2 hours ago

[video=twitter;728685701890514944]https://twitter.com/CBCCanada/status/728685701890514944[/video]. Follow our live blog for #ymmfire updates. http://cbc.sh/qp0sGCK

 

[byo]

Fort McMurray wildfire expected to double in size overnight, to more than 200,000 hectares
Last Updated: May 6, 2016 3:58 PM MDT

CBC News- 1Hour ago
Fire continues to grow NE, away from the community. Fire still 101,000 hectares in size, Senior Wildfire Manager Chad Morrison says.

 

[ilovepierre]

Rain. They need rain.

On a more happier note, my place of employment has a huge trailer parked outside it right now and is taking donations (non-monetary) all weekend
It heads up to Fort Mac on Monday!

 

[Snoopster]

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/evacue...-mcmurray-1.2890603?google_editors_picks=true

Let's see. There are many thousands of people trapped north of Fort Mac. They are taking 50 cars in a convoy at a time....with a helicopter and RCMP vehicles scouting ahead to see if they can get through to the south. How long could this take?? Who could have imagined this? The poor folks who went north really don't have anywhere of substance to go to.

Off the top of my head, only 9-11 and Katrina created a more challenging dislocation of people in North America. (Of course I'm probably missing another obvious tragedy.)

 

[Snoopster]

Fort McMurray wildfire expected to double in size overnight, to more than 200,000 hectares
Last Updated: May 6, 2016 3:58 PM MDT

CBC News- 1Hour ago
Fire continues to grow NE, away from the community. Fire still 101,000 hectares in size, Senior Wildfire Manager Chad Morrison says.

Crap!!

 

[tarabull]

UPDATED: RCMP find people in Fort McMurray ignoring evacuation order
A family of 5, including 3 young children, were located in the city on Thursday night
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/fort-mcmurry-wildfire-funding-1.3570772

:thud:

 

[byo]

MIX 103.7 ‏@Mix1037radio 3h hours ago

Strong northernly winds have been pushing smoke up towards Syncrude and Suncor and all the camps where evacuees still wait


AviWxChasers ‏@AviWxChasers 12m12 minutes ago

BREAKING NEWS: #FortMacFire is now 156,000 hectares. That's 50% larger than last night.

 

[byo]

​2 die in fiery crash on Highway 881 south of Fort McMurray

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...-highway-881-south-of-fort-mcmurray-1.3567142

My heart is breaking this morning for all of those involved. I'm not sure what, if anything, I can do to help from so far away but will be looking into it when I have more time this afternoon.

Fort McMurray triplet killed fleeing fires was daughter of deputy fire chief
Updated: May 7, 2016 1:42 am

 

[byo]

(Lots of) pets on board: Canadian North flies furry Fort Mac evacuees out from oilsands camps

19 dogs, 5 cats and 2 turtles mingled with human passengers in memorable, teary flight
Last Updated: May 07, 2016 12:52 PM CT

With not enough space for the animals in the cargo hold, pets laid on people's laps and in the aisle during the 53-minute flight.

Canadian North spokesperson Kelly Lewis admits it's unusual to have so many large animals free in the cabin.

"There really were no other options," she said. "We weren't going to let people leave their pets behind. We know how much they love them and we love animals, too."

Despite the crowded conditions, Murray said the pets and their weary owners appreciated the help.

"When we touched down, we got a standing ovation. It brought tears to our eyes. They are the heroes, not us.

"It's a flight that will always remain in my memory."

 

[newone]

​2 die in fiery crash on Highway 881 south of Fort McMurray

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...-highway-881-south-of-fort-mcmurray-1.3567142

My heart is breaking this morning for all of those involved. I'm not sure what, if anything, I can do to help from so far away but will be looking into it when I have more time this afternoon.

This is such a sad story. Her cousin was only 19 and she was 15. There's been nothing in MSM about the logging truck driver, whether or not he was injured. RIP

 

[otto]

This is such a sad story. Her cousin was only 19 and she was 15. There's been nothing in MSM about the logging truck driver, whether or not he was injured. RIP

The province of Alberta has been decimated in the last two years. First the price of oil, then the loonie, job loss, now the burning of the oil sands city.
No more transfer/equalization payments means the country will take a step back.

 

[ilovepierre]

Gas prices are now expected to rise in Western Canada as an effect of this wildfire...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[byo]

Alberta SPCA ‏@AlbertaSPCA 53m53 minutes ago
UPDATE: Crews are working 24/7 to rescue animals. Hundreds of pets from #ymm arrived in Edmonton this morning.


Alberta SPCA ‏@AlbertaSPCA 3h3 hours ago
Fort McMurray Animal Rescue UPDATE: More then 200 animals have been transfered to Edmonton. Read More here: http://bit.ly/1YiorVV

 

[byo]

I thought this was interesting.

The good news is that wildfires are no threat to a radioactive waste site. In other news … Fort McMurray has a radioactive waste site?
May 9, 2016 8:30 pm

Buried by the Fort McMurray neighbourhood of Beacon Hill is 43,500 cubic metres of radioactive waste.

It’s an innocuous landscape of rolling hills, covered in grass and dotted by yellow and purple wildflowers.

An estimated 80 per cent of Beacon Hill homes were destroyed when the wildfire ripped through the region, but the federal Crown corporation that looks after low-level radiation sites said the fire’s proximity to the waste poses no risk.

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) described the waste as low-grade uranium mixed with topsoil. It’s buried in a self-contained cell under a thick layer of clay and 45 centimetres of topsoil.

The waste has been there since 2003, the result of cleanup activities after radioactive spills from the 1930s until the late ’50s.

 

[0101ABA]

The mammoth inferno devastating northern Alberta has now destroyed more than 877,000 acres -- more than four times the size of New York City.

Well over 1,700 firefighters are trying to get a grip on the blaze, which started May 1 near Fort McMurray.

But as of Wednesday, the fire is still 0% contained, the Alberta Agriculture and Forestry department said.

http://www.news8000.com/news/alberta-wildfire-torches-1370-square-miles/39607146

 

[otto]

Fire Flood Infestation

The wildfires are done. On Tuesday there was so much rain that the city flooded on Thursday. Four more days of rain predicted.

"After a deluge of heavy rains that June, the Hangingstone River overran its banks and flooded parts of Waterways, Grayling Terrace, and the downtown core.

"We've had rain like this before, but I haven't seen flooding like that since 2013 when we had that last major flood up here," said Jackson.

"It's not at that level yet, but I haven't seen the sewers back up like this before. The water is getting pretty high, up to the top of people's bumpers."​

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/fort-mcmurray-flooding-1.3627131

And the final wrath (we hope): wasps and hornets have taken over the city, moving into abandoned homes.

"It's been weeks, a month, where the wasps could build and do whatever they want to do. So the wasps have been building nests, because this is the time of year that they're naturally doing that.

"And the wasps may very well have chosen those sites because it didn't seem like there was any kind of human disturbance. And now they are hassling people.

"I don't see that it's related to the wildfire as much as it is related to the evacuation."​

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...m-fort-mcmurray-in-wake-of-wildfire-1.3624634