Canadian Oil Town

A large wildfire is slowly approaching the major Canadian oil sands city of Fort McMurray and around 6,000 people in four suburbs have been told to evacuate, local officials said on Tuesday.

After a wildfire blazed a path of destruction in the oil boomtown of Fort McMurray, Canadian towns in heavily wooded northern Alberta are scrambling to take precautions against fire as hot weather and dry vegetation increase the risk.

Oil sands companies around the Canadian energy centre of Fort McMurray began to resume production on Tuesday after an out-of-control wildfire forced a shutdown a week ago, and energy executives met with province leaders who reported the town was less damaged than first feared.

Canadian officials on Monday got their first glimpse of the oil sands boomtown of Fort McMurray since a wildfire hit and saw a "heartbreaking" number of destroyed homes but a largely intact downtown business area.

Officials said on Sunday they reached a turning point in fighting an enormous wildfire, hoping to get a "death grip'" on the blaze that devastated Canada's oil sands town of Fort McMurray amid cooler temperatures. Meanwhile, a massive evacuation of residents displaced by the blaze came to an end.

Canada's government sent trucks and helicopters today to safely remove thousands of evacuees stranded north of a wildfire that ravaged nearly a quarter million acres around the Canadian oil town of Fort McMurray, Alberta.

A convoy of stranded residents drove back through the Canadian oil town of Fort McMurray, escaping the fire-ravaged region under police escort on Friday, taking the only route out as the massive wildfire spread.

A massive wildfire that has forced the evacuation of all 88,000 people from the western Canadian oil city of Fort McMurray and burned down 1,600 structures has the potential to destroy much of the town, authorities said on Wednesday.

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.

The number of dead or missing after the runaway oil tanker train disaster in a small Canadian town has risen to 60, police announced on Wednesday, as the railway chairman headed to the scene.

At least five people died and 40 were missing on Sunday after a runaway train carrying crude oil exploded and destroyed the center of a small Canadian town in a disaster that raises fresh questions about shipping oil by rail.

At least 80 people are missing after a driverless oil tanker train derailed and exploded in the small Canadian town of Lac-Megantic, destroying dozens of buildings, a firefighter back from the scene told AFP Saturday.

Flooding forced the evacuation on Friday of some 100,000 people in Calgary and nearby towns in the heart of the Canadian oil patch.

A large wildfire is slowly approaching the major Canadian oil sands city of Fort McMurray and around 6,000 people in four suburbs have been told to evacuate, local officials said on Tuesday.

After a wildfire blazed a path of destruction in the oil boomtown of Fort McMurray, Canadian towns in heavily wooded northern Alberta are scrambling to take precautions against fire as hot weather and dry vegetation increase the risk.

Oil sands companies around the Canadian energy centre of Fort McMurray began to resume production on Tuesday after an out-of-control wildfire forced a shutdown a week ago, and energy executives met with province leaders who reported the town was less damaged than first feared.

Canadian officials on Monday got their first glimpse of the oil sands boomtown of Fort McMurray since a wildfire hit and saw a "heartbreaking" number of destroyed homes but a largely intact downtown business area.

Officials said on Sunday they reached a turning point in fighting an enormous wildfire, hoping to get a "death grip'" on the blaze that devastated Canada's oil sands town of Fort McMurray amid cooler temperatures. Meanwhile, a massive evacuation of residents displaced by the blaze came to an end.

Canada's government sent trucks and helicopters today to safely remove thousands of evacuees stranded north of a wildfire that ravaged nearly a quarter million acres around the Canadian oil town of Fort McMurray, Alberta.

A convoy of stranded residents drove back through the Canadian oil town of Fort McMurray, escaping the fire-ravaged region under police escort on Friday, taking the only route out as the massive wildfire spread.

A massive wildfire that has forced the evacuation of all 88,000 people from the western Canadian oil city of Fort McMurray and burned down 1,600 structures has the potential to destroy much of the town, authorities said on Wednesday.

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.

The number of dead or missing after the runaway oil tanker train disaster in a small Canadian town has risen to 60, police announced on Wednesday, as the railway chairman headed to the scene.

At least five people died and 40 were missing on Sunday after a runaway train carrying crude oil exploded and destroyed the center of a small Canadian town in a disaster that raises fresh questions about shipping oil by rail.

At least 80 people are missing after a driverless oil tanker train derailed and exploded in the small Canadian town of Lac-Megantic, destroying dozens of buildings, a firefighter back from the scene told AFP Saturday.

Flooding forced the evacuation on Friday of some 100,000 people in Calgary and nearby towns in the heart of the Canadian oil patch.