The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo has lifted evacuation orders for the residents of several communities in Fort McMurray who were displaced due to threat of wildfire last week. Over 6,000 residents from the neighbourhoods of Abasand, Beacon Hill, Grayling Terrace, and Prairie Creek were forced to leave their homes last Tuesday due the encroaching wildfire, which measured 19,582 hectares as of Saturday.
Officials have stated that the recent rainfall has reduced the intensity of Wildfire MWF-017, and that the construction of fire guards between the northern edge of the fire and Fort McMurray have helped significantly in preventing the fire from moving closer to the community, landfill, and Highway 63.
As of May 20th, Wildfire MWF-017 has been classified as being held, with danger being slated as ‘low’ for the time being. This means that given current weather conditions and resources available, the fire is not anticipated to grow past expected boundaries, according to Alberta.ca.
The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo maintains that while significant progress has been made on containing the wildfire, it will remain active for many weeks and will take time to bring under full control.
For more information on Emergency Alerts, please visit www.alberta.ca.