The Fort McMurray wildfire has destroyed one of the oilsands camps north of the city and is roaring eastward toward others in its path.
In a news conference Tuesday morning, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley confirmed fire had destroyed all 665 units at Blacksand Executive Lodge, which provided temporary housing for workers in oil facilities nearby.
CBC News obtained photos of the fire engulfing the facility at around 6 a.m. Tuesday morning.
The damage came just hours after thousands of workers were told to leave the area. The sky glowed orange from the southwest as thousands of workers from camps outside the town were directed to get on buses and leave.
Flames are visible about four kilometres down the road from Noralta Lodge on Monday night. (Supplied )
An official emergency alert said new evacuees from several camps to the north and south of Fort McMurray should take Highway 63 southbound. But some of the workers were taken a few kilometres north instead.
Notley confirmed that roughly 8,000 workers were affected by Monday’s new evacuation order, and estimated some 6,000 were left in the north.
“It’s so scary and intimidating,” said oil worker B.J. Spears, in an interview Tuesday morning.
RAW: Video of hazy skies as workers evacuate Noralta0:25
He was sent home during the first wave of evacuations, when the province cleared the northern camps of all non-essential workers during the weekend of May 7. After five days in Ontario, Spears was called back to stay and work out of Noralta Lodge.
He arrived Sunday and worked an overnight shift. When he awoke Monday afternoon, authorities told him it was time to leave.
“You just get on those buses and pray that you’re headed away from the danger,” said Spears.
Spears said he and about 2,000 other workers were sent to a camp farther north called McClelland Lake Lodge, near Suncor’s Fort Hills site. He said supervisors told them Tuesday to stay in their rooms and wait for news.
Blacksand Executive Lodge burns on Tuesday morning. (Supplied)
But he and some of his colleagues wonder why they’re staying put.
“I don’t know what they’re waiting for,” Spears said.
Notley said she’s confident energy companies can airlift the remaining workers out if needed. She said the fire was expected to move east, not north, on Tuesday.
As of 10 p.m. Monday night, 19 oil sites and camps north of Fort McMurray were under a mandatory evacuation order, including the Syncrude and Suncor production facilities south of Fort MacKay.