Fort McMurray braces for 'very hard' day as residents in hard-hit areas return
New wildfire in northern Alberta forces evacuation of Cenovus Energy site 300 km north of Edmonton
Alberta's oilsands capital is braced for what some say could be the most emotionally wrenching day Fort McMurray has seen since a wildfire forced the entire population out of the city five weeks ago.
Wednesday marks the first time that residents of the three hardest hit neighbourhoods — Abasand, Beacon Hill and Waterways — will be allowed escorted visits to their homes, either to fetch a few essential or personal items or to simply gaze at piles of rubble.
"This is going to be a very, very hard day for a lot of people," said Bob Couture, director of emergency management for the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.
Some 3,000 to 4,000 residents of those three neighbourhoods are expected to return to the city Wednesday for the first time since May 3.
Many of them have known for weeks that their homes are no longer standing.
Between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., those residents will be allowed to visit their properties. During the time, some will stand outside temporary hazard fences, and perhaps direct trained volunteers from an non-government volunteer organization called Rubicon, who will sift through the cinders and ashes in search of whatever keepsakes can be found.
In those three areas, even residents whose homes are still standing will not be allowed to stay beyond the 8 p.m. deadline. Their neighbourhoods are not yet safe to live in, and there is no timeline yet for when they will be.
While the recovery work in Fort McMurray continues, another wildfire on Tuesday forced a fresh evacuation in northern Alberta.
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Cenovus Energy said a wildfire was burning about one kilometre from its main facility at Pelican Lake near the hamlet of Wabasca, about 300 kilometres north of Edmonton.
"Because of the proximity to our main complex there, we decided this afternoon to undertake the precautionary evacuation of all of our staff from Pelican Lake and to shut down our operations there," said company spokesman Brett Harris.
About 130 staff were evacuated safely, Harris said.
"There is currently no damage to our facilities or infrastructure," Cenovus said in a statement. "Our emergency response plan is fully activated and we're working with provincial authorities to ensure the safety of our staff and our operations.
Emergency responders from Alberta Agriculture and Forestry were working at the scene of the wildfire, and the Alberta Energy Regulator had been notified, the company said.