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Even as Alberta fire grows, evacuees may get to go home

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Even as wildfire in northern Alberta rages on, residents of Fort McMurray are being told they can return to their homes as early as June 1.

The Alberta government announced this week that all residents should be able to return to their neighborhoods by June 15, if the fire behaves as expected.

“The fire continues to spread to the northeast, away from communities and oil-sands facilities into the forested areas,” said Chad Morrison, a senior wildfire manager with the Alberta Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

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Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Danielle Larivee told reporters Thursday that 15 separate fires are burning out of control in the province. More than 2,400 firefighters are battling the blazes.

The fire affecting Fort McMurray started May 1 and now covers 1.25 million acres, stretching east across the border into the neighboring province of Saskatchewan. The area affected is nearly four times the size of the city of Los Angeles.

Larivee said that firefighters would be able to “continue to strengthen their position in controlling the fire” in Fort McMurray as cooler temperatures are forecast for Friday and the air quality health index improves. Usually measured on a scale of 1 to 10, the index hit 51 on Wednesday but dropped to 3 on Thursday morning.

Among the challenges in the relief effort are containing smoke-related contamination, and getting the Northern Lights Regional Health Centre – Fort McMurray’s hospital – back in operation.

David Yurdiga, a Conservative member of Parliament, was awaiting a green light to return to his constituency office in Fort McMurray.

He estimated that 1,500 firefighters, emergency personnel and utility workers were part of the effort to ensure that power lines, gas lines and the water treatment plant were secure before residents are allowed to back into the city.

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Of the 19,244 buildings and homes in Fort McMurray assessed for damage so far, 1,921 were destroyed and 17,156 were deemed fit to occupy.

“Smoke in the city was so dense that it was hard to get a clear picture of exactly how many structures were burned, until now,” Yurdiga said.

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Scott Long, executive director of operations at the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, told reporters Thursday that officials had not gone into homes to check for smoke damage. Cleaning up such damage will most likely be part of the re-entry plan between now and June 1, he said.

“There will be welcoming centers in each neighborhood,” he said, adding that returning residents will be given an information package that will outline “what they may expect and what they should do when they first open their residence.”

As of Thursday, the Alberta government had distributed US$55.8 million in preloaded cash cards to more than 70,250 evacuees.

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Even as residents are allowed back, schools that were closed during the evacuation will not reopen until September.

In the meantime, oil companies that were forced to shut down production because of the wildfire are waiting to hear from the Alberta government as to when they can resume operations.

ConocoPhillips Canada, one of the country’s largest oil and gas companies, evacuated its 663 employees on May 5 and shut down its facility, a 50-minute drive south of Fort McMurray.

“Our site has not been damaged, and we have action plans for remobilization and restart ready to implement once authorities give us the all-clear to return and when we feel 100% confident it is safe for our employees to return,” said company spokesman Rob Evans.

Prior to the shutdown, ConocoPhillips was producing an average of 25,000 barrels a day.

Guly is a special correspondent.

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