Rainfall set to help crews battling wildfire near Canada’s Fort McMurray
Al Jazeera
Authorities say blaze in heart of Canadian tar sands region will be ‘subdued’ due to expected rain and cloud cover.
Cloud cover and rainfall over the next few days are expected to help crews battling a large wildfire near Fort McMurray, a city at the heart of Canada’s tar sands region, local authorities said.
The fire on Friday remained about 5.5km (3.4 miles) from the landfill on the city’s southern outskirts where crews continue to build a containment line.
The municipal authority of Wood Buffalo, which includes Fort McMurray, said the blaze was largely unchanged at 19,820 hectares (49,000 acres).
“Fire behavior will be subdued today with cloud cover and rain showers,” it said in a statement, adding that as much as 80mm (3.5 inches) of rainfall was expected by Tuesday.
Authorities issued evacuation orders for four neighbourhoods of Fort McMurray earlier this week as the wildfire neared – one of several blazes burning across the country so far this fire season.
