FORT MCMURRAY, Alberta (AP) — Residents displaced from Canada’s oil sands hub Fort McMurray, Alberta, by a nearby wildfire can return home, authorities said Saturday.
The Wood Buffalo Regional Municipality has lifted the evacuation order for the neighborhoods of Abasand, Beacon Hill, Prairie Creek and Grayling Terrace on the city’s southern edge.
About 6,600 residents of those neighborhoods had to rush from their homes on Tuesday as the fire continued to grow out of control, but firefighters have made significant progress since then, according to a statement from the city.
The statement said recent rainy weather helped contain the fire and reduce its intensity, allowing fighters to control the blaze and install fire barriers on its northern edge.
The council said local highways were open in both directions and emergency social services, including food and accommodation, would remain available until Sunday afternoon.
The partial evacuation was familiar territory for the Alberta city, which survived a catastrophic fire in 2016 that destroyed 2,400 homes and forced more than 80,000 people to flee.
Elsewhere, wildfires in Parker Lake and Patry Creek continue to threaten the northeastern British Columbia city of Fort Nelson, which remains under an evacuation order.
