* Fort McMurray residents will be unable to return for a
while
* Ground evacuation of those to the north expected early
Friday
* Flames spread south, threaten two oil sands sites -
officials
(Recasts with warnings of no quick return to city, details on
oil facilities, update from emergency officials in Fort
McMurray)
By Rod Nickel and Liz Hampton
CONKLIN/LAC LA BICHE, Alberta, May 5 (Reuters) - The 88,000
residents who fled a wildfire that has ravaged the Canadian oil
town of Fort McMurray in Alberta will not be able to return home
anytime soon, officials warned on Thursday, even as the inferno
edged slowly south.
The out-of-control blaze has consumed entire neighborhoods
of Fort McMurray in Canada's energy heartland and officials warn
its spread now threatens two oil sands sites south of the city.
The wildfire has already forced precautionary production
cuts or shutdowns at about a dozen major facilities, eating into
a global crude surplus and supporting oil prices this week.
CRU/CA O/R
"The damage to the community of Fort McMurray is extensive
and the city is not safe for residents," said Alberta Premier
Rachel Notley in a press briefing late Thursday, as those
stranded in camps and on the roadside to the north of the city
clamored for answers.
"It is simply not possible, nor is it responsible to
speculate on a time when citizens will be able to return. We do
know that it will not be a matter of days," she said.
Three days after the residents were ordered to leave Fort
McMurray, firefighters were still battling to protect homes,
businesses and other structures from the flames. More than 1,600
structures, including hundreds of homes, had been destroyed by
Wednesday morning. Officials declined on Thursday to estimate
how many more had been lost.
The communities of Anzac and Gregoire Lake Estates about 50
kilometers (31 miles) south of Fort McMurray were "under extreme
threat," late Thursday, as the flames spread to the southeast.
CNOOC Nexen's Long Lake oil sands facility and Athabasca
Oil's ATH.TO Hangingstone project are also in danger as winds
blow southward, according to emergency officials.
There have been no known casualties from the blaze itself,
but fatalities were reported in a car crash along the evacuation
route.
Although the cause of the fire was unknown, officials said
tinder-dry brush, low humidity, and hot, gusting winds left
crews unable to stop the massive conflagration.
The blaze, which erupted on Sunday, grew more than tenfold
from 18,500 acres (7,500 hectares) on Wednesday to some 210,000
acres (85,000 hectares) on Thursday, an area roughly 10 times
the size of Manhattan.
The dry weather conditions prompted the province to issue a
fire ban for parks and protected areas on Thursday.
"GIVE US ANSWERS"
For those stranded north of Fort McMurray, there was a hint
of good news. With the fire moving to the southeast, officials
are hoping to begin a ground evacuation from the north on Friday
morning and briefly re-open the main highway through the city to
let people drive south.
On Thursday, frustration for thousands stranded to the north
was growing, with some venting online and demanding answers.
One twitter user posted a message saying, "NO ONE IS TELLING
US ANYTHING!! We're just sitting in a camp praying to get out!!
Give us answers!!! Please."
The premier said that a government airlift of those cut off
to the north was going smoothly and that about 4,000 people had
already been evacuated to the cities of Edmonton and Calgary as
of late Thursday.
Closer to the scene, hundreds filled a community center on
Thursday in Lac La Biche, a community 290 km (180 miles) south
of Fort McMurray. Many were second-round evacuees ordered to
relocate from temporary refuges closer to Fort McMurray on
Wednesday night as the flames spread.
Kirby Abo, who came from Fort McMurray with his wife and
three children, said he worried that his job in a recycling
depot may no longer exist when he returns home.
"I think it's going to be a ghost town for quite a while,"
he said.
Fort McMurray's mayor in a television interview acknowledged
the city faces a long road to recovery, saying that "what comes
next is absolutely daunting, but not insurmountable."
The winds gave the city a reprieve on Thursday by driving
the fire to the southeast, away from areas with the most
dwellings. But officials warned the unpredictable weather could
quickly shift and that gusting winds have been very challenging
for firefighters. Properties near green areas in Fort McMurray
remain at risk, they said.
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GRAPHIC-Map of the Fort McMurray fire http://tmsnrt.rs/1TtvIOD
FACTBOX-Canada wildfire disrupts operations in oil sands region
Residents fleeing Canada wildfires short of fuel, food
Canadian town, already staggering from oil bust, hit by
wildfires
Alberta wildfire set to be Canada's costliest natural disaster
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(With additional reporting by Ethan Lou, Andrea Hopkins,
Allison Martell, Amran Abocar, Jeffrey Hodgson and Euan Rocha in
Toronto, Nia Williams in Calgary and Julie Gordon in Vancouver;
Writing by Andrea Hopkins, Dan Whitcomb and Euan Rocha; Editing
by Cynthia Osterman, Andrew Hay and Tom Hogue)