Fort McMurray Wildfire Grows Tenfold as Mass Evacuations Continue

The devastating wildfire in the Canadian province of Alberta has grown tenfold, destroying more than 100,000 hectares (roughly 247,000 acres) by Friday morning as convoys of trucks and helicopter airlifts continued evacuating the town of Fort McMurray.

Between 80,000 and 90,000 people have already been forced to flee from their homes as Alberta declared a state of emergency. Officials said about 25,000 people have taken refuge in nearby tar sands work camps, and the trucks will escort them further south.

CBC News reports:

Without rainfall, efforts to slow or stop the blaze will be futile, according to Chad Morrison, the province’s manager of wildfire prevention.

“Let me be clear: air tankers are not going to stop this fire,” Morrison said. “It is going to continue to push through these dry conditions until we actually get some significant rain.”

Meanwhile, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said in a press briefing Thursday that it is unclear when Fort McMurray residents will be able to return home—but it won’t be soon.

“The damage to the community of Fort McMurray is extensive and the city is not safe for residents,” Notley said. “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.”

The fire comes after an especially dry and warm winter for Alberta, which is also a central region in tar sands production, leading many climate advocates to frame the wildfire as a devastating consequence of the fossil fuel era—one with a catastrophic human toll.