(Adds evacuee comment, oil price, Syncrude statement)
By Liz Hampton and Rod Nickel
GREGOIRE LAKE, Alberta, May 8 (Reuters) - Canadian officials
showed some optimism on Sunday they were beginning to get on top
of the country's most destructive wildfire in recent memory, as
favorable weather helped firefighters and winds took the flames
southeast, away from oil sands boomtown Fort McMurray.
There was still no time line, however, for getting Fort
McMurray's 88,000 inhabitants back into what remains of their
town, or when energy companies would be able to restart
operations at evacuated sites nearby. The wildfires have cut
Canada's vast oil sands output in half.
"It definitely is a positive point for us, for sure," said
Alberta fire official Chad Morrison in a news briefing, when
asked if the fight to contain the flames had a reached a turning
point.
"We're obviously very happy that we've held the fire better
than expected," said Morrison. "This is great firefighting
weather, we can really get in here and get a handle on this
fire, and really get a death grip on it."
The wildfire scorching through Canada's oil sands region in
northeast Alberta since last Sunday night had been expected to
double in size on Sunday, threatening the neighboring province
of Saskatchewan.
But with the fire moving into its second week, light rains
and cooler temperatures helped hold it back, giving officials
hope that they could soon begin assessing the damage to Fort
McMurray, close to where the fire started.
"As more and more fire has burned out around the city and
the fuel around the city starts to disappear ... we are starting
to move into that second phase of securing the site and
assessing the site," Alberta Premier Rachel Notley told the same
media briefing.
Officials said it was too early to put a time line on
getting people back into the town safely.
LONG TIME TO CLEAN UP
The broader wildfire, moving southeast through wooded areas
away from the town, would still take a long time to "clean up,"
Morrison cautioned. Officials previously warned that the fire
could burn for months.
Alberta's government estimated on Sunday that the fire had
consumed 161,000 hectares (395,000 acres). That was less than a
previous estimate, but authorities warned the fire would likely
grow overnight.
Fort McMurray is the center of Canada's oil sands region.
About half of the crude output from the sands, or 1 million
barrels per day, has been taken offline, according to a Reuters
estimate.
Oil prices jumped almost 2 percent in trading early on
Monday, as Canada's fire contributed to tightening supply.
The inferno looks set to become the costliest natural
disaster in Canada's history. One analyst estimated insurance
losses could exceed C$9 billion ($7 billion).
Officials said on Sunday the fire had done minor damage at
CNOOC 0883.HK unit Nexen's Long Lake facility, in the site's
yard. It was the first reported damage to an energy industry
asset since the fire began.
Morrison said air tankers, helicopters and bulldozers had
kept the blaze from reaching a Suncor Energy Inc SU.TO
facility, which Suncor identified as its base oil sands mining
site north of Fort McMurray, and a Syncrude facility.
Suncor said on Sunday it would allow employees to return to
work as soon as it was safe to do so. "We are hopeful that this
will be soon," the company said in a statement, adding it
planned to use temporary camps for employees and was arranging
for workers to commute from Calgary and Edmonton.
Syncrude said its oil sands project about 35 km (22 miles)
north of Fort McMurray had shut down completely on Saturday
morning, the first time in its 38-year history, because of smoke
from the wildfire. "We are not currently under threat from the
actual fire, it's smoke that's presenting health hazards," a
spokesman said.
Notley is set to meet with energy executives on Tuesday to
talk about the impact of the fire and how the province can help
them resume operations.
FORT MCMURRAY STILL OFF LIMITS
Even though the fire has largely pushed through Fort
McMurray, the town is still too dangerous to enter.
Nearly all of Fort McMurray's residents escaped the fire
safely, although two people were killed in a car crash during
the evacuation. The town's 160 firefighters worked nearly
non-stop in the first days of the fire, even as some of them
lost their own homes, said fire captain Nick Waddington.
Thousands of evacuees are camped out in nearby towns but
stand little chance of returning soon, even if their homes are
intact. The city's gas has been turned off, its power grid is
damaged and the water is undrinkable.
Provincial officials said displaced people would be better
off driving to cities such as Calgary, 655 km (410 miles) to the
south, where health and social services were better.
"We are thinking about relocating in Edmonton for the time
being. Maybe stay a year," said Kyle Mackay, 27, a mechanic for
equipment trucking company Northern Diesel, who fled from Fort
McMurray to Lac la Biche, about three hours' drive south, and is
now staying with friends.
His girlfriend, Sarah Smith, who left separately, is
pregnant and due to be induced into labor in Lac La Biche on
Monday morning. "It's really stressful, but I know we'll get
through it," said Mackay.
Some evacuees are keen for people to return to the place
known as 'Fort Mac,' or 'Fort McMoney' for its well-paid oil
jobs.
"I'm trying to convince people Fort McMurray is a good place
to return and rebuild," said Curtis Phillips, who has worked in
the media in the town, speaking at a "reception center" in Lac
La Biche providing food, shelter and services for the displaced.
"People will return because of the high salaries and
benefits," he said.
Officials said on Sunday that 34 wildfires were burning,
with five out of control. There are more than 500 firefighters
battling the blaze in and around Fort McMurray, with 15
helicopters and 14 air tankers.
($1=$1.29 Canadian)