Ash and debris delays return for 2,000 Fort McMurray evacuees

By Nia Williams
CALGARY, Alberta, May 30 (Reuters) - Some 2,000 residents of
wildfire-ravaged Fort McMurray, Alberta, will not be able to
return home this week as planned because of the risks posed by
debris and contaminants including "caustic" ash, Alberta Premier
Rachel Notley said on Monday.
The city of 90,000 people was evacuated in early May as an
uncontrolled wildfire ripped through some neighbourhoods,
destroying about 10 percent of the city's homes.
It also forced around a dozen oil sands projects in the
region to halt more than a million barrels per day of crude oil
production.
With the 580,000 hectare wildfire now burning away from
populated areas, provincial government officials are planning to
let residents start returning to Fort McMurray on June 1 in a
phased re-entry program.
However, Notley said ash, soil and air tests carried out in
Abasand, Waterways and Beacon Hill - three of the worst-hit
areas of the city - showed that around 500 homes are unsafe for
habitation, even though they were spared by the blaze.
"Unfortunately I have to report today that the outcomes of
these tests indicate that undamaged homes in certain
neighbourhoods are not immediately safe for reoccupation,"
Notley said, adding residents may not be able to return until
September.
The province's chief medical officer, Dr. Karen Grimsrud,
said tests showed the ash left behind after the fire was caustic
and could cause skin and respiratory irritation and burning,
while heavy metals like arsenic were also present.
"We need to ensure that residents and their families are
protected when crews begin removing debris that has toxic and
potentially dangerous chemicals in it," she said.
Alberta has extended its state of emergency for an
additional 28 days until the end of June as around 2,000
firefighters, including 300 just arrived from South Africa,
continue to battle the blaze.
The wildfire is now burning to the east of Fort McMurray and
has also moved away from oil sands projects. Suncor Energy
SU.TO , Canada's largest oil and gas producer, said on Sunday
that it expects to partially restart operations at its
facilities by the end of the week. (Editing by Alan Crosby)