© CBC News / Reuters
Wildfire is worsening along highway 63 Fort McMurray, Alberta Canada May 3, 2016.
Wildfire is worsening along highway 63 Fort McMurray, Alberta Canada May 3, 2016.
Fort McMurray is an urban service area with a population of about 80,000 people.
A mandatory evacuation notice was issued for the whole city on Tuesday after the wildfire began spreading uncontrollably.
Local authorities have advised residents to evacuate to the Noralta Lodge north of the city because outgoing Highway 36 has been partially blocked due to the fire.
The fire first was detected on Sunday to the southwest of the residential area. It is believed to have covered more than 2,656 hectares (6,540 acres) as of late Monday. Although, more than 90 firefighters have been deployed to battle the fire, the situation on Tuesday has worsened due to strong winds. On Tuesday afternoon the fire breached Highway 63, the main road out of the city.
Several homes in Beacon Hill and the Centennial Trailer Park have been destroyed in the fire, CBC reported.
Comment: This is the largest evacuation in the history of the Canadian province of Alberta.
Last year the wildfire season was a record breaker in the United States and Canada. The Amazon jungle was going up in smoke with tens of thousands of wildfires, while in Indonesia wildfires caused a toxic haze which threatened millions in southeast Asia. There have been devastating wildfires in Australia already this year and officials have warned of 'potentially significant wildfires' in some US states.
A study showed that wildfire seasons are more destructive and lasting longer almost everywhere on Earth.
Could a significant factor in the escalation of these events be that they are fueled from outgassing, then possibly 'sparked' by an increase in atmospheric electric discharge events, such as lightning strikes and other 'cosmic' ignition sources?