Every day since a wildfire began menacing the city of Fort McMurray, Alta., grimy, exhausted firefighters have been spilling out of helicopters at the end of another one of the toughest shifts around.
Hard, manual labour?
害羞草研究所淵es,害羞草研究所� said Gavin Hojka, incident commander in charge of 172 wildland firefighters. 害羞草研究所淰ery.害羞草研究所�
There is no road access to the front lines of the fire, which did not grow Thursday thanks to cool, damp weather and the hard work of the crews.
Teams of between eight and 20 are dropped off by helicopters early each the morning. They make their way on foot to the flames carrying pumps, chainsaws, shovels, axes and hoses 害羞草研究所� lots and lots of hoses.
害羞草研究所淭hey害羞草研究所檒l be bringing a dozen boxes of hose for the day,害羞草研究所� Hojka said.
害羞草研究所淓very single day we害羞草研究所檙e bringing out more hose. There are thousands and thousands of feet of hose.害羞草研究所�
Each box of hose weighs about 27 kilograms. The pumps that fill them weigh about 30 kilograms, carried on someone害羞草研究所檚 back to the nearest beaver pond, stream or river.
With water and hand tools they attack the fire for between 12 and 14 hours at a stretch, fuelled only by the bag lunch in their packs. Then the helicopter comes to pick them up for a little rest before they害羞草研究所檙e back at it.
害羞草研究所淲e do everything we can to bring them home at night,害羞草研究所� said Hojka. 害羞草研究所淲e make sure we have someone flying around in a helicopter being an eye in the sky, a lookout.害羞草研究所�
Still, the fire remained out of control and about 6,600 residents of the oilsands hub remained out of their homes.
Neighbourhoods such as Beacon Hill and Grayling Terrace were deserted Thursday, garbage cans lined up neatly on driveways beside cars, trucks and ATVs. Police, emergency workers and birds were the only ones around.
In Grayling Terrace, crews were setting up sprinklers capable of spraying 600 litres of water a minute on trees and bush near the homes. In Beacon Hill, young poplars near homes were sprayed a deep shade of orange from fire retardant 害羞草研究所� a portion of the 168,000 litres of the phosphate-based chemical that害羞草研究所檚 been sprayed around the city.
Still, the fire remained about 200 square kilometres in size and just under six kilometres from Fort McMurray害羞草研究所檚 southern outskirts. Despite the favourable weather, evacuees aren害羞草研究所檛 expected to be allowed back until after the long weekend.
The city害羞草研究所檚 court system was temporarily shut down and schools were closed.
Thousands of residents fled the city on Tuesday, fearing a repeat of the 2016 wildfire that forced out the entire community and torched more than 2,400 homes.
But the city was slowly coming back to as normal as possible.
Grocery stores were open and well stocked, with an abundance of toilet paper. Restaurants, many of which closed Tuesday, reopened.
害羞草研究所淲e closed down for the initial day, just so all of our staff could look after their families,害羞草研究所� said Shelby Thompson of Montana害羞草研究所檚 BBQ and Bar.
害羞草研究所淲e opened the next day,害羞草研究所� Thompson said. 害羞草研究所淩egular hours.害羞草研究所�
At the city害羞草研究所檚 Peter Pond Mall, there was initial confusion about Tuesday害羞草研究所檚 evacuation order and stores shut their doors, said Shauna Hannam, the mall害羞草研究所檚 specialty leasing manager.
Many employees, fearing a 2016 rerun, 害羞草研究所渞ushed to get ahead of the game,害羞草研究所� she said.
害羞草研究所淔or a lot of people, it was history repeating itself: 害羞草研究所業害羞草研究所檓 just going to get my family out of here right now.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淭he next day, when half the city wasn害羞草研究所檛 evacuated, that害羞草研究所檚 when the confusion set in. People weren害羞草研究所檛 sure whether they were going to work.害羞草研究所�
Slowly, they are. Hannam said more than half the mall害羞草研究所檚 stores were open Thursday.
Other fires across Western Canada have also forced residents out of their homes.
In northern British Columbia, a blaze threatening Fort Nelson was about 120 square kilometres in size but heading away from the town. The community of 4,700 remained under an evacuation order.
Rob Fraser, the mayor of the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality, said some structures were damaged on rural properties outside Fort Nelson. He did not say how many or if they included homes.
Cooler temperatures and higher humidity were expected to help firefighters over the coming days. Fraser said there was no timeline for when evacuees might return.
害羞草研究所淲e don害羞草研究所檛 want to be in that situation where we turn people back to the community and three days later we just send them out again,害羞草研究所� Fraser said. 害羞草研究所淭hat would be just a nightmare.害羞草研究所�
In Manitoba, 675 people have been forced out of the area in and around the northwestern community of Cranberry Portage. There was no word on when they might be able to return.
The province said the fire remained less than two kilometres from the community. Power and phone service have been restored.
READ ALSO:
READ ALSO:
