![\"fort](\"https:\/\/planesintheair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/fort-mcmurray-300x208.png\")
<\/p>\nThe giant Fort McMurray inferno has cast a large shadow over our recent visit to Canada. Fort McMurray, located in the Canadian province of Alberta, has been in a panic since a massive wildfire has taken aim at the city.\u00a0The entire local population of 88,000 residents were\u00a0ordered to evacuate the small oil town last Tuesday.\u00a0The fire, which has already devastated\u00a0several neighborhoods in the town, is now threatening the two oil sands production sites just to the south of the city.\u00a0The fire has destroyed\u00a0over 1,600 structures\u00a0as of last Wednesday, and is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. It\u00a0began\u00a0on Sunday May 1, and quickly grew to consume more than 18,500 acres by last Wednesday, and\u00a0210,000 acres by Thursday.<\/p>\n
The thousands of Fort McMurray residents that have evacuated to the\u00a0north are being relocated by government airlift to the cities of Calgary and\u00a0Edmonton. No one knows yet when the fire will be contained, or when the citizens will be allowed to return. Officials are warning that it\u00a0may take months for\u00a0the fire to be\u00a0brought under control.\u00a0Significant rainfall may be required in order to halt\u00a0the spread of fire.\u00a0There have not been any\u00a0casualties from the fire as of yet, but\u00a0two people have died in separate traffic accidents caused by\u00a0the massive evacuation.\u00a0Fort McMurray is located\u00a0in the northeastern Alberta Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Canada. It resides\u00a0in the middle of the Athabasca oil sands patch, and is surrounded by the Boreal Forest.\u00a0There is currently\u00a0no time frame\u00a0for the local\u00a0energy companies to\u00a0be able to restart their operations at the evacuated sites in the area. The wildfires have cut Canada’s large\u00a0oil sands production by 50%.\u00a0Oil prices are up about\u00a02%\u00a0this morning, as the\u00a0fire has contributed to a reduction in global\u00a0supply.<\/p>\n
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