Massive convoy of vehicles flees wildfire in Alberta

FORT MCMURRAY, Alberta — A massive convoy was under way Friday to move evacuees stranded at oil field camps north of wildfire-ravaged Fort McMurray, Alberta, through the community to safe areas south of the Canadian oil sands capital.

The mass evacuation has forced as much as a quarter of Canada’s oil output off-line according to estimates and is expected to impact a country already hurt by a dramatic fall in the price of oil.

The Alberta provincial government, which declared a state of emergency, said Friday the size of the fire had grown to more than 249,571 acres.

The government said 1,100 firefighters, 110 helicopters, 295 pieces of heavy equipment and more than 27 air tankers were fighting the fire, but Chad Morrison, Alberta’s manager of wildfire prevention, said no amount of resources would put this fire out.

The Alberta government is providing cash to 80,000 evacuees from the Fort McMurray fire to help them with their immediate needs.