Wildfire sparks exodus from Fort McMurray

Globe and Mail Update

Published May 4, 2016 Updated May 16, 2018

A raging wildfire has forced Fort McMurray’s 80,000 residents to evacuate, with little time to plan, few routes to escape and dwindling space in nearby refuges. An evacuation centre has also been established in Anzac, a hamlet south of Fort McMurray , Edmonton’s Expo Centre and other locations.

A pink car remains among the ruins of destroyed buildings after wildfires tore through the Waterways area of Fort McMurray, Alta.

Brad Readman/Alberta Fire Fighters Association/via Reuters

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Volunteers load donated flats of water to be taken to a camp just outside of Wandering River, Alta. The camp is currently housing more than 400 people displaced by the Fort McMurray forest fires

Cole Burston/Getty Images

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A Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer surveys the damage on a street in Fort McMurray.

Alberta RCMP

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Aerial view of the wild fires in the Fort McMurray area from a CH-146 Griffon flown by the Canadian Armed Forces.

MCpl VanPutten/Canadian Forces Operations

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Marlee Hildebrandt and her daughter Oakley Hildebrandt, 2, clean cots at a makeshift evacuee center in Lac la Biche, Alberta.

Cole Burston/AFP/Getty Images

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Tyra Abo sits on a cot at a makeshift evacuee center in Lac la Biche, Alberta.

Cole Burston/AFP/Getty Images

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A woman picks through donated clothing and goods at a makeshift evacuee center in Lac la Biche, Alberta.

Cole Burston/AFP/Getty Images

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Evacuees watch the wildfire ne Fort McMurray, Alta.

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Anzac Rec Centre, where Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo has set up a reception centre for Fort McMurray residents evacuated from southern neighbourhoods.

Greg Halinda/The Canadian Press

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An evacuee puts gas in his car on his way out of Fort McMurray, Alberta, as a wildfire burns in the background.

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Anzac Rec Centre, where Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo has set up reception centre for Fort McMurray residents evacuated from southern neighbourhoods.

Greg Halinda/The Canadian Press

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Fires burn in Fort McMurray, Alberta.

Kitty Cochrane/The Canadian Press via AP

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Destruction around Fort Mac Super 8 Motel. Global TV news cameraman Loren Andreae inside the hot zone.

Loren Andreae Global TV

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Destruction around Fort Mac Super 8 Motel. Global TV news cameraman Loren Andreae inside the hot zone.

Loren Andreae Global TV

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Robert Parker, left and Matt Jones siphon from two skidoos for their truck at a rest stop near Fort McMurray, Alberta.

Jason Franson/The Canadian Press

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A Canadian Forces CC-130J Hercules transport aircraft takes off from the airstrip at CFB Trenton in Trenton, Ontario. The air force is sending a pre-op crew to CFB Cold Lake, Alta., to help out with the wildfires in Fort McMurray.

Lars Hagberg/The Canadian Press

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Evacuees from the wildfires in and around Fort McMurray exit a bus at the evacuation centre at the Edmonton Expo Centre in Edmonton Alberta.

CODIE MCLACHLAN/The Canadian Press

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A police officer directs traffic as residents of Fort McMurray assemble after they were ordered to be evacuated due to raging wildfires, in Anzac, Alberta.

Topher Seguin/Reuters

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A wildfire moves towards the town of Anzac from Fort McMurray, Alberta.

Jason Franson/AP

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What is left of the community of Beacon Hill, Alta., is seen after wildfires devastated the area on Wednesday, May 4, 2016.

Chad Kruger/CTV News

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What is left of the community of Beacon Hill, Alta., is seen after wildfires devastated the area on Wednesday, May 4, 2016.

Chad Kruger/CTV News

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What is left of the community of Beacon Hill, Alta., is seen after wildfires devastated the area on Wednesday, May 4, 2016.

Chad Kruger/CTV News

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Residents of Fort McMurray line up outside a grocery store after they were ordered to be evacuated due to a raging wildfire, in Anzac, Alberta.

Topher Seguin/Reuters

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A helicopter battles a wildfire in Fort McMurray Alberta.

Jason Franson/The Canadian Press

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The burned-out Flying J service centre in Fort McMurray, Alberta.

Terry Reith/CBC/The Canadian Press

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This May 3, 2016 NASA satellite image shows the Fort McMurray wildfire in Alberta.

NASA/AFP/Getty Images

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Wildfires burn in and around Fort McMurray, Alberta.

Jeff McIntosh/AP

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A burned-out truck in the Beacon Hill area of Fort McMurray, Alberta.

Sylvian Bascaron/CBC/The Canadian Press

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A helicopter battles a wildfire in Fort McMurray Alberta. The wildfire has already torched 1,600 structures in the evacuated oil hub of Fort McMurray and is poised to renew its attack in another day of scorching heat and strong winds.

Jason Franson/The Canadian Press

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A plume of smoke hangs in the air as forest fires rage on in the distance in Fort McMurray, Alberta.

Cole Burston/AFP/Getty Images

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