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| Convoys Inch South to Safety From Fire-Ravaged Fort McMurray | Convoys Inch South to Safety From Fire-Ravaged Fort McMurray |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| EDMONTON, Alberta — Convoys of cars and trucks began making their way gingerly through the wildfire-ravaged community of Fort McMurray, Alberta, on Friday, headed south to safety, past the charred ruins of neighborhoods and businesses, after being stranded for days north of town on the area’s only highway. | EDMONTON, Alberta — Convoys of cars and trucks began making their way gingerly through the wildfire-ravaged community of Fort McMurray, Alberta, on Friday, headed south to safety, past the charred ruins of neighborhoods and businesses, after being stranded for days north of town on the area’s only highway. |
| Bracketed by Royal Canadian Mounted Police cruisers and preceded by a military helicopter searching for flare-ups near their route, the first convoy got rolling shortly after dawn. | |
| Ultimately, officials hope to clear thousands of evacuees and their vehicles from the area, which has been cut off repeatedly when flames blocked Highway 63, the only road link to the rest of Canada. Depending on weather conditions and the course of the fire, it may take four days to complete the convoying, municipal officials said. | |
| Officials said no one would be allowed to deviate from the convoy route to check on homes or property. “The city of Fort McMurray is not safe to return to, and this will be true for a significant period of time,” Rachel Notley, the premier of Alberta, said at a midday news conference in Edmonton. “So the town site is going to be secured and protected by the R.C.M.P.” | |
| When Fort McMurray was swiftly overtaken by a wildfire on Tuesday and the city was ordered evacuated, most of its 90,000 residents escaped south on Highway 63, and the road rapidly became choked with traffic. About 25,000 people headed north instead, to take refuge in the large work camps used to house transient workers at oil sands projects. Some camps that had been mothballed after the recent slump in oil prices were reopened as shelters. | When Fort McMurray was swiftly overtaken by a wildfire on Tuesday and the city was ordered evacuated, most of its 90,000 residents escaped south on Highway 63, and the road rapidly became choked with traffic. About 25,000 people headed north instead, to take refuge in the large work camps used to house transient workers at oil sands projects. Some camps that had been mothballed after the recent slump in oil prices were reopened as shelters. |
| The camps, too, were cut off when the flames closed the highway, and they soon ran low on food and supplies. Officials tried to resupply the camps using a military transport plane, but on Thursday evening, Ms. Notley said that effort was no longer sustainable. | |
| Many evacuees have been airlifted from the camps, using an airstrip owned by Shell Canada, on chartered and oil-company-owned aircraft, including at least one executive jet. | Many evacuees have been airlifted from the camps, using an airstrip owned by Shell Canada, on chartered and oil-company-owned aircraft, including at least one executive jet. |
| But other evacuees tried to drive south again, only to be stopped at a police blockade outside Fort McMurray because smoke and fire had severed Highway 63. The long line of stopped vehicles led to frustration and sometimes confrontations. | But other evacuees tried to drive south again, only to be stopped at a police blockade outside Fort McMurray because smoke and fire had severed Highway 63. The long line of stopped vehicles led to frustration and sometimes confrontations. |
| Overnight on Thursday, tankers with gasoline and diesel fuel were escorted north to Fort McMurray to top off the tanks of the isolated evacuees, many of whom had run out of fuel. | Overnight on Thursday, tankers with gasoline and diesel fuel were escorted north to Fort McMurray to top off the tanks of the isolated evacuees, many of whom had run out of fuel. |
| The vehicles are being divided into convoys of about 50 at a time, with police cars at the front and back to keep them together and moving. Television images showed that many of the vehicles were pickup trucks fitted with “buggy whips” — pennants on long, flexible sticks that are meant to ensure that the trucks are not overlooked and crushed by the immense dump trucks used in oil sands open-pit mines. | |
| Ms. Notley urged the latest round of evacuees to travel to Edmonton, the provincial capital and nearest large city to Fort McMurray, or else to Calgary farther south. | Ms. Notley urged the latest round of evacuees to travel to Edmonton, the provincial capital and nearest large city to Fort McMurray, or else to Calgary farther south. |
| “What we’re trying to do is encourage them to go to the two major centers, because that’s where we have the greatest number of services, both in terms of health, income support, mental health support, as well as the capacity to absorb the students into the school system,” she said. | “What we’re trying to do is encourage them to go to the two major centers, because that’s where we have the greatest number of services, both in terms of health, income support, mental health support, as well as the capacity to absorb the students into the school system,” she said. |
| New shelters were expected to open in both cities on Friday. | New shelters were expected to open in both cities on Friday. |
| Meanwhile, the fire continued to spread. Officials estimated on Friday that about 245,000 acres had been burned, 10 times as much as on Wednesday. | Meanwhile, the fire continued to spread. Officials estimated on Friday that about 245,000 acres had been burned, 10 times as much as on Wednesday. |