(Releads on threat to oil sands, adds new quotes from
officials)
By Nia Williams
CALGARY, Alberta, May 16 (Reuters) - A massive wildfire
burning around the oil sands hub of Fort McMurray was growing
and moving rapidly north late on Monday, forcing firefighters to
shift their focus to protecting major oil sand facilities north
of the city, officials said.
The sudden movement of the fire prompted the evacuation of
some 4,000 people from work camps outside Fort McMurray, with
all northbound traffic once again cut off at the city, the
Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo said.
Suncor Energy Inc SU.TO and Syncrude Canada confirmed they
had evacuated workers from the affected area. Their major
facilities were under a precautionary notice with the fire still
some 15 to 20 kms (10-12 miles) away, officials said.
A dozen work camps south of the major projects faced
mandatory evacuation notices.
"The urgency we're looking at is with regards to the oil gas
infrastructure," Scott Long, executive director of the Alberta
Emergency Management Agency, told reporters in Edmonton, adding
Fort McMurray itself appeared to be safe for now.
The entire population of Fort McMurray, about 90,000 people,
was forced to flee nearly two weeks ago as the uncontrolled
wildfire raged through some neighborhoods and destroyed about 15
percent of structures.
On Monday, the blaze continued to burn uncontrolled, now
covering 285,000 hectares (704,000 acres), officials said. By
Monday evening it was moving 30 to 40 meters (98 to 131 feet)
every minute and had jumped a critical firebreak north of the
city to push into the oil sand camp areas.
"When you have this type of extreme fire behaviour, it
doesn't matter what tankers you put in front of it, or how many
helicopters, mother nature is going to continue to move that
fire forward," wildfire manager Chad Morrison said.
Morrison said the blaze was expected to slow into the
evening and that it was unclear if it would reach the major oil
sand facilities, though responders were preparing for that
eventuality.
A Suncor spokeswoman said 120 people were evacuated from its
MacKay River plant and camps as a precautionary measure Monday
afternoon, adding the facilities were not at risk from the fire.
Syncrude, a joint venture among numerous energy companies
operating in the region, said on Twitter that it was relocating
its workers to safety.
The fire also threatened Enbridge Inc's ENB.TO Cheecham
crude oil tank farm south of Fort McMurray. The blaze, about 1
km (1,094 yards) away from the tank farm, was under control with
the wind cooperating as the company's industrial firefighters
tackled the fire, officials said earlier in the day.
Enbridge said a firebreak around the terminal was being
widened and that crews were assessing other fire suppression
tactics like spraying down facilities. It said some pipelines in
and out of the terminal were operating, and the situation was
being monitored.
Roughly a million barrels per day of oil sands crude
production was shut in as a precaution and because of
disruptions to regional pipelines, and much of that production
remains offline. SAFE, FOR NOW
Firefighters have managed to protect much of Fort McMurray
but evacuated residents are still not allowed to return to their
homes, partly because of hotspots around the community.
By Monday evening, the wildfire was again burning next to
the neighborhood of Timberlea, with some 150 to 200 firefighters
working to keep the burn from spreading back into the community.
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said there was still no
timeline on when residents could return but she hoped to have
more information by the end of the week.
Officials said the air quality in the city had deteriorated,
with the air quality health index, usually measured on a scale
of 1-10, at 38 on Monday.
"This has delayed the re-entry of additional response
personnel as well as vehicle retrieval efforts," Notley said.
"It is clear that this is something that could potentially delay
recovery work and the return to the community."
Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau told CBC News the
Fort McMurray fire would be a challenge to the economy as well
as a human challenge, but he had no price tag yet on how much
the disaster would cost the federal government.
"We're obviously going to stand shoulder to shoulder with
the people in Fort McMurray and rebuild the city," he said.