NorthAmOil: Wildfire nears Canada’s oil sands capital, but winds shifting

A wildfire has approached Canada’s largest oil producing region, prompting the evacuation since May 14 of around 6,600 people from Fort McMurray, in Alberta.

But the threat has seemed to ease as the winds shift, reported Bloomberg on the morning of May 15.

The fire had grown to 21,000 hectares (52,000 acres) and came within 5.5 km of the city’s landfill as of 08:00, said Bloomberg quoting Alberta Wildfire.

Part of the city has been evacuated. Officials could not determine the size of the fire because of thick smoke, and winds of up to 40 kph meant that firefighting crews had to be withdrawn from the leading edge, reported the New York Times.

On the morning of May 15, the fire remained a threat to the 70,000-resident city, parts of which were ordered to evacuate the day before.

The fire is not close to oil sands operations, but many workers live in Fort McMurray.