The Massive Wildfire Burning in Alberta

Alan Taylor
May 6, 2016
23 Photos
In Focus

All week long, raging wildfires have swept across neighborhoods and forests of the city of Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada, forcing more than 80,000 people to flee. The fire, driven by strong winds and hot, dry weather, is estimated to have burned more than 250,000 acres so far, destroying nearly 2,000 buildings, and will likely be one of Canada’s most expensive disasters, with insurance claims estimated to top $9 billion. Fortunately, there have been no casualties reported from the fire so far.

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A massive wildfire, which caused a mandatory evacuation, rages south of Fort McMurray near Anzac, Alberta, Canada, on May 4, 2016. #

Chris Schwarz / Government of Alberta / Reuters

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Flames rise in an industrial area in south Fort McMurray, Alberta, on May 3, 2016. #

Terry Reith / CBC News / Reuters

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A Canadian Joint Operations Command aerial photo shows wildfires near neighborhoods in Fort McMurray, Alberta, on May 5, 2016. #

CF Operations / Reuters

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Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Alberta officers are seen during search, rescue, and evacuation efforts as they respond to wildfires in Fort McMurray on May 4, 2016. #

RCMP Alberta / Reuters

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Wildfire worsening along Highway 63 in Fort McMurray on May 3, 2016. #

Terry Reith / CBC News / Reuters

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Residents of Fort McMurray line up for gas after they were ordered to be evacuated due to raging wildfires, in Anzac, Alberta, on May 4, 2016. #

Topher Seguin / Reuters

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A Canadian Joint Operations Command aerial photo shows wildfires near Fort McMurray in this May 4, 2016 image. #

MCpl VanPutten / CF Operations / Reuters

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Drivers wait for clearance to take firefighting supplies into town on May 5, 2016, outside of Fort McMurray. #

Scott Olson / Getty

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A Fort McMurray resident, Crystal Maltais, buckles in her daughter, Mckennah Stapley, as they prepare to leave Conklin, Alberta, for Lac La Biche after evacuating their home in Fort McMurray on May 3, 2016. #

Topher Seguin / Reuters

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A plume of smoke hangs in the air as forest fires rage on in the distance in Fort McMurray on May 4, 2016. Numerous vehicles can be seen abandoned on the highways leading from the raging forest fires in Fort McMurray and neighbouring communities have banded together to offer support in the form of food, water, and gasoline. #

Cole Burston / AFP / Getty

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Officers look on as smoke from Fort McMurray's raging wildfires billow into the air after their city was evacuated on May 4, 2016. #

Topher Seguin / Reuters

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Firefighters arrive on a bus to help battle wildfires near Fort McMurray on May 5, 2016. #

Chris Wattie / Reuters

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Smoke billows from the Fort McMurray wildfires as a truck drives down the highway in Kinosis, Alberta, on May 5, 2016. #

Mark Blinch / Reuters

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Evacuees from the Fort McMurray wildfires use the sleeping room at the Bold Center in Lac la Biche, Alberta, on May 5, 2016. #

Mark Blinch / Reuters

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A displaced person looks at the fire on their mobile phone at a makeshift evacuee center in Lac la Biche, Alberta on May 5, 2016. #

Cole Burston / AFP / Getty

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Wildfires continue to burn near Fort McMurray neighborhoods on May 4, 2016. #

Chris Schwarz / Government of Alberta / Reuters

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A helicopter flies into thick smoke while battling a major forest fire outside of Fort McMurray on May 4, 2016. #

Topher Seguin / Reuters

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A mountie surveys the damage on a street in Fort McMurray in this May 4, 2016 image. #

Alberta RCMP / Reuters

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Wildfires burn across Gregoire Lake near Fort McMurray on May 5, 2016. #

Chris Wattie / Reuters

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Strathcona County firefighters are seen taking a break from wildfires in Fort McMurray on May 5, 2016. #

Strathcona Fire / Reuters

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A Canadian Joint Operations Command aerial photo shows wildfires near neighborhoods in Fort McMurray on May 4, 2016. #

MCpl VanPutten / CF Operations / Reuters

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A toy car remains among the ruins of destroyed buildings after wildfires tore through the Waterways area of Fort McMurray on May 5, 2016. #

Brad Readman / Alberta Fire Fighters Association / Reuters

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A flock of birds fly in formation as smoke billows from the Fort McMurray wildfires above Kinosis, Alberta, on May 5, 2016. #

Mark Blinch / Reuters

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