Convoys headed south of Fort McMurray on Friday morning. Photo courtesy Facebook, Mike Hudema
A massive convoy is underway to move thousands of stranded evacuees from oilfield camps north of the fire-ravaged city of Fort McMurray, Alberta.
The RCMP and military helicopters are escorting about 1,500 vehicles – 50 at a time – down Highway 63 to a dispersal point south of the community. It will not pass through the actual city of Fort McMurray. The RM of Wood Buffalo is reporting the process could take up to four days.
Intersections along the route are blocked off and no one is being allowed to stop once they’re underway to prevent people from going astray.
The evacuees were moved to the camps when a wildfire triggered a mandatory evacuation earlier this week.
As for the fire-fighting efforts, there was a slight hitch on Thursday afternoon when a Convair 580 aircraft veered into a ditch in Manning, Alberta after the pilot suffered a medical episode.
The pilot is recovering after that aircraft skidded off the runway while landing following a fire-retardant run on the Fort McMurray wildfire.
The RCMP says the co-pilot had to grab the controls and bring the plane in.
The tanker didn’t catch fire and the co-pilot walked away, but the pilot suffered a cut to the head.
On the political front, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is looking forward to visiting Fort McMurray, but says the visit will have to wait for several weeks because it is not “particularly helpful” for a prime minister to show up while firefighters are busy trying to contain the fire.
Trudeau says the best thing he can do right now is make sure that the Alberta government and emergency authorities receive everything that they need to deal with the situation.
He says the federal government has already met all of Alberta’s requests for assistance, including providing air assets and 7,000 cots for evacuees in emergency shelters, with 13,000 more on the way.
Trudeau says Fort McMurray has for years contributed considerably to Canada’s economic growth, and his government is committed to helping the people of that community “not just in the days and weeks to come but also in the months and years to come.”
The RCMP in Fort McMurray on Thursday night. Photo courtesy Facebook, RCMP Alberta