FORT MCMURRAY, Alberta -- The entire population of the Canadian oil-sands city of Fort McMurray, Alberta, has been ordered to evacuate as a wildfire whipped by winds engulfed homes and sent ash raining down on residents.
More than 80,000 residents have been ordered to flee. An earlier order that had applied to almost 30,000 people, mostly on the city's south side, was extended to tens of thousands more as flames continued to make their way into the city Tuesday.
Alberta 63 is the only road out of Fort McMurray and flames jumped the road, closing the southern entrance to the city.
Pictures posted on Twitter showed long lines of traffic and skies darkened by thick smoke as flames licked the edges of roads.
The wildfire, whipped by unpredictable winds on a day of high temperatures, worsened dramatically in a short time, and many residents had little notice to flee.
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said officials were doing all they could to ensure everyone's safety and said they were looking into the possibility of an airlift for residents with medical issues.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted that he spoke with Notley and said the federal government stands ready to help. He urged residents to follow evacuation orders.
Crews had seemed to be making progress controlling the blaze, burning since the weekend, but the situation worsened quickly Tuesday. By midafternoon people from three neighborhoods were told to leave immediately.
Fort McMurray is the capital of Alberta's oil-sands region. Those oil sands are the third-largest reserves of oil in the world behind Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
Unseasonably hot temperatures combined with dry conditions have transformed the boreal forest in much of Alberta into a tinder box. There were about 30 fires burning in the province.
A Section on 05/04/2016