88,000 evacuees flee shelter as fire engulfs Canada

Days after escaping a roaring wildfire in the Canadian city of Fort McMurray, some evacuees are packing up again.

The inferno, which started Sunday, forced the evacuation of that entire city in northern Alberta.

Authorities ordered the evacuation of about 88,000 people on Tuesday, including the entire city of Fort McMurray, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, said.

Residents, who outran the flames were forced to flee for a second time as the fire blazed toward their shelter.

Donna Guillamot was one of tens of thousands evacuated from the Fort McMurray area to Anzac this week.

But authorities asked Guillamot and others to move again late on Wednesday as weather patterns shifted the blaze toward them.

“I thought it was safe here, so I guess we’ll go to Edmonton,” Guillamot told CNN partner CBC News. “Now you’re sitting here and all you see is red flames. It’s pretty scary.”

Edmonton is nearly 270 miles away.

As some evacuees took buses to the next shelter, the encroaching flames forced emergency officials to move their make-shift operations centre again.

“We’re evacuating … and heading to Lac La Biche to reset,” the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo tweeted early yesterday.

“Please be patient with updates — just evacuated almost 900 people and drove 2.5 hours, we’re doing the best we can.”

Authorities ordered an evacuation center south of Fort McMurray to move residents as weather patterns shifted the blaze toward them on Wednesday night, CBC News reported.

Officials kept residents updated as they worked through the night to ensure fatalities and injuries remain at zero.

“Take comfort tonight knowing that your friends and family are safe,” local officials tweeted. They urged residents to stay safe and “hug a loved one.”

The wildfire has torched at least 1,600 homes, CBC News said.
Walls of fire burned on both sides of Fort McMurray’s major highway, cutting off the city from the rest of Alberta province.