Fort McMurray wildfire grows to 161,000 hectares

There is finally good news for fire fighters in Fort McMurray as the wildfire has grown to 161,000 hectares in size, but that is much smaller than crews estimated.

Mother Nature has helped crews with a small amount of rain and cooler temperatures over the weekend, but the wind continues to be a problem. The fire grew much less than expected on Saturday and all 25,000 residents that were evacuated north of the city have been safely moved south by driving along Highway 63. As of Sunday morning, there were no evacuees left at camps north of Fort McMurray. In addition, 15,000 Syncrude employees have been evacuated and a nearby facility has been shut down.

The fire is now moving east and is currently 30 to 40 kilometres away from the Saskatchewan border.

During an afternoon press conference, Premier Rachel Notley spoke about the two people who lost their lives attempting to flee the wildfire. Emily Ryan and Aaron Hodgson were killed when their vehicles collided last week. Notley said her thoughts are with their families, especially since Sunday is Mother’s Day and these mothers are now without their children.

Ryan, 15, was a grade 9 student at Fort McMurray Composite High School and the daughter of the local deputy fire chief. Ryan and her 19-year-old cousin Hodgson were driving away from the city when their SUV collided with a logging truck near Lac La Biche. School principal Kevin Bergen issued a statement.

"Emily Ryan, one of the triplets, died at the scene. She was a vibrant, engaging member of our student body," said Bergen, Principal.

"We are shocked, and saddened. Our prayers and thoughts are with Emily's family as they deal with this trying situation," said Doug Nicholls, Superintendent, FMPSD.

The break in the weather means crews have been able to hold the line in Fort McMurray and crews are now focusing their attention on putting out hotspots and flair ups. The vast majority of buildings in Anzac has been saved as the fire continues to move away from the community.

There is good news for those worried about their pets as teams are getting to them and giving the animals food and water as well as watching the streets for pets. Evacuees are asked to register with the Alberta SPCA if they left their pets behind as first responders will be utilizing their data system to get to these pets.

A team will head to Fort McMurray on Monday to begin a re-entry plan for residents and to assess the damage. Officials say it will be some time before the report is assembled and information released as the assessment will take a number of days to conduct.

The Premier is encouraging residents to register with the Red Cross as only 36,381 evacuees have registered with the province, although it is estimated that 80,000 were evacuated. Students will be welcomed into schools in Edmonton, Lac Le Biche, and Calgary so they can resume classes on schedule.

Some media will be allowed in Fort McMurray on Monday so they can gather information and share images and video with the public.

There are still 34 fires burning in the province, but there is good news as 31 are now being held or being brought under control.