The Wall Street Journal's Chester Dawson describes the massive evacuation due to a wildfire in Alberta, Canada.
A wildfire engulfed the town of Fort McMurray in western Canada's sprawling Alberta province on Wednesday, forcing residents to leave with basically the clothes on their backs, reported Chester Dawson, senior correspondent in The Wall Street Journal's Calgary Bureau.
The 25,000-acre blaze swept through the town, which is an outpost for Canada's main oil sands operation. All 88,000 residents were given about a half-hour notice to evacuate once the fire started heading their way.
A wildfire is seen from MacDonald Island Park near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada on May 3, 2016. Photo courtesy of Kangeun Lee/Handout via Reuters
"Even the firefighters, early in the day yesterday, didn't seem too concerned about their ability to handle [the fire], but it quickly overwhelmed them as the weather heated up and the winds started blowing the fire directly into residential areas," Dawson told PBS NewsHour Weekend anchor Hari Sreenivasan.
Many people lost their homes and now are living in the oil-producing camps, Dawson said.
Wendy Tremblay prepares cots for residents evacuating a wildfire in Conklin, Alberta, Canada, on May 3, 2016. Photo by Topher Seguin/Reuters
One oil producer, Shell, has halted operations and another has reduced production due to the evacuation. No deaths or injuries have been reported, he added.