Car pool June 17th Fort McMurray to Calgary

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June 17th (Wednesday) around 1200 from Fort McMurray  to Calgary. Toyota Siena minivan. Seats available.
please contact  e-mail James to: xujulie@yahoo.ca or leave your contact infos.

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Wildfires south of Fort McMurray have forced the closure of Highway 63, Alberta Transportation officials announced yesterday afternoon.

Megan Steiestol, local wildfire information officer with Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, said fire MWF-024 is currently burning out of control at 2,000 hectares about 45 to 50 kilometres south of the city, near Stoney Mountain Road.

* C9 h9 e2 j2 K) f8 ^% c  \“Yesterday it was reported as being about one kilometre away from the highway,” said Steiestol. “Our main priority right now is to ensure the fire has not crossed Highway 63, and it hasn't crossed yet.”

, p% w% d( T* Y% y, qWhile Highway 881 currently remains open to the public, looming smoke from a different fire 80 kilometres north of Lac La Biche, could lead to its closure.

The municipality’s emergency operation centre, which helps share information among government agencies and departments involved in emergency situations, was activated at noon yesterday after they were contacted by SRD-Waterways area.

1 t9 N0 N! {/ L1 NRene Wells, director of emergency management with the municipality, said, “Highway 63 remains closed. We still have smoke in the area that is restricting visibility, and therefore we need to keep the highway closed, and that's been done by Alberta Transportation.”
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Wells said the fire threatening Highway 881 is under the Lac La Biche wildfire management area and although there is smoke in the area, the highway remains open.
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0 O( |  I2 _" I6 v3 e6 i“There is a fire about 80 kilometres north of Lac La Biche adjacent to Highway 881, and SRD-Lac La Biche have several resources to battle that fire,” said Wells. “The highway does remain open at this time but there is smoke in the area so we're cautioning anyone travelling along that highway to take that into account and to also watch for wildlife. We know that wildlife, when there is smoke present, they will move to a safe area, which poses a risk for motorists.”
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9 c; p, b4 v8 s$ ^Wells said anyone intending to leave Fort McMurray or those trying to return to the city should have a plan “to make the necessary arrangements and have the provisions in place so that if they are out of the area and can't return they're not too inconvenienced.”

- ~% L1 x+ T9 v7 F+ H, z9 UIf the secondary highway is closed, it would cut the city of Fort McMurray off for the first time since the massive Mariana Lake fire in 1995.
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The Mariana Lake wildfire in 1995 was the last fire to result in the closure of Highway 63. Back then Highway 881 was a gravel road and travel was not advised due to poor road condition. The fire sparked May 28, 1995, eight kilometres northwest of Mariana Lake after temperatures in the city hit 32.8 C, topping the 1986 heat record of 30.2 C. Highway 63 near Mariana Lake was closed May 29 with a 24-kilometres stretch of road deemed “hazardous.” By May 31, 1995, the fire was closing in on 40,000 hectares.

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  d7 y& E. m3 |At the fire’s peak, it was consuming land at 30 km/h. The flames jumped the highway on June 10 and during this time, Highway 63 was opened for short periods to allow some traffic. By June 15 the highway was officially reopened to the public. The fire continued to burn out of control until June 19 after torching 123,500 hectares and ending just 24 kilometres south of Janvier. More than 600 firefighters from SRD, industry and volunteers helped to douse the blaze.

The smoke generated from fires burning south of the city has also resulted in an air quality advisory by Alberta Health Services.

% A; c* ~" u) D" g% n# YA press release issued yesterday afternoon states wildfires produce smoke that can be a health hazard because of the “fine particulate matter and other compounds that smoke contains.”
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Dr. Brent Friesen, medical officer of health for Alberta Health Services is advising people with breathing problems such as asthma, bronchitis, or emphysema or with heart conditions to monitor their reactions, take preventive measures and contact their physicians if there are any concerns. He is recommending that individuals with respiratory or cardiac conditions to remain indoors, keep their windows closed and limit outdoor physical activity.
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Residents can contact Health Link Alberta to speak to a registered nurse 24-hours a day, seven days a week at 780-408-LINK (5465) or outside of the local calling area toll-free at 1-866-408-LINK. For updates on the wildfires and highway closure contact the SRD hotline at 1-886-916-INFO (4636), the municipality's hotline 780-799-8000, or Alberta Transportation at 1-866-772-9152.
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In the past 24 hours there have been six new starts, bringing the number of active wildfires burning in the region to 24 for a total of 5735.97 hectares. The amount of resource support used to battle the two dozen blazes as of 9:30 a.m. this morning are 11 wildfire crew — 74 people — five air tankers, three light helicopters, 10 intermediate helicopters, six medium helicopters as well as bulldozer units and Cats to establish fire perimeters and containment lines.

3 x2 |% \! o& o" x6 t- r! qSteiestol said the majority of fires in the region have been sparked by lightning.

Ignition specialists are working on the southern fires by starting close to Highway 63 and burning back towards Fire MWF-024 in an effort to contain it, she said. Light air tankers are also fighting the blaze, she said.
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“There are no firefighters that are on that fire right now, no ground crews, because it's not safe,” she said, adding than an incident command team is overseeing efforts to fight fires in the region.

9 L8 K# a" ~, g+ c/ G( kAs of this morning there are three air tankers, two light helicopters, and four intermediate helicopters fighting the fire, “and that's going to change throughout the day,” said Steiestol.