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Sylvia,
I am 40 minutes south and west of Calgary in a small town in the foothills. We have been on a fire ban for over a month and now are on water restrictions. Every time we hear sirens we all panic a little. My house backs on to fields and forest so a fire would be terrible.
Teres
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Teresa ............ I can understand! It's bad all around. Fingers crossed for you xx
We're on the coast in the southern part of BC, nowhere near the extreme danger areas, but it's very dry here, even in the centre of the city.
One of the fires in northeastern BC, the Siphon Creek fire, has crossed into Alberta, and BC fire fighters will continue to fight it in that province. Firefighters don't usually cross provincial borders unless they have been specifically asked to do so ....... but the Albertans have their hands full with Fort McMurray.
The latest news (literally just listening to it on the radio) is that the Alaska Highway has been closed in north-eastern BC, as a result of the Beatton Airport Road fire, a separate fire from the Siphon Creek one but in the same geographical area. The Beatton fire has been going since mid-April, and is still uncontrolled.
1000 people are under mandatory evacuation orders from the two fires..
It's bad, and likely to get even worse .......... there are bone dry conditions, and high temperatures, causing high to extreme fire risks in all the provinces west of Ontario, and moderate to high conditions from Ontario east to New Brunswick.
El Nino once again :-(
Although the current thought is that most, if not all, of these fires (including Fort McMurray) have been caused as a result of human action .................. accidental or deliberate .... rather than natural. Experts are saying that there had been few lightening strikes when these fires started.
Accidental causes include discarding cigarette butts, not putting out a camp fire, sparks from equipment (eg chainsaws when clearing), or from hot exhaust pipes of vehicles.
El Nino IS responsible for the dry conditions, low snow pack, and early heat.
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other news ............
People who went north from Fort McMurray when they were evacuated are being moved out of the oil workers camps where they took refuge. About 18,000 people went north.
Thousands are being airlifted out, while convoys of cars are being escorted at intervals down the one and only highway to the south. That means they will be passing through Fort Mac. They're being taken out in groups of about 50 cars.
That will also include the oil workers who were actually working until the fires got so bad .......... they couldn't get out before, and the oil companies stopped paying them when work was stopped :-(
Reports are that not only were the oil workers asked not to eat as much as they normally did, but were asked not to do laundry and limit showering ......... all water is shipped in .......... so there would be enough for the 1000 or more people who were added to each camp.
Not only that ......... but many of the workers decided to self-censor themselves. They decided the language they normally use wasn't suitable when there were children and more women around :-D
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Update ...............
The fire increased 50% in size overnight, over 156,000 hectares are now burning
The fire is currently moving away from Fort Mac, with strong winds. There is some moisture possible, but it is probable that it will not even reach the ground ....... the heat from the fire will dry it.
There are great worries that the wind will suddenly change direction and roar back to Fort Mac, or other communities further south. Plus, of course, the fire itself creates its own weather conditions, especially very strong winds.
Police (RCMP) are constantly patrolling Fort Mac, and they are finding that some people stayed. Yesterday they found a family of 5 (3 young children) and an elderly man with his dog, still in their homes because "they didn't believe they were in danger". They have been moved out.
Convoys of cars are being brought down from the oil camps in the north through Fort Mac to the south ........... today those convoys have been reduced in size to about 24 cars each as the conditions are unstable enough that longer convoys could be dangerous. Once south of Fort Mac, the cars are "released" from police control and can head to wherever they want to go.
They got about 6,000 people out yesterday by air and car convoys, and are hoping for a similar number today ..................... as a reminder, about 18,000 people fled north on Tuesday.
The 2 fires in northern BC that I mentioned last night have both increased in size, and the one that has moved over the border into Alberta is still 100% not contained.
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Thanks for all the information Sylvia.
Devastating for all concerned.
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