The Alberta government provided its afternoon update on the Fort McMurray wildfire battle and evacuation. Mobile users can watch it here.



The fire ravaging northern Alberta has intensified, and is expected to double in size overnight to 2,000 square kilometres.

That’s three times larger than Edmonton and larger than London, England.

There are about 490 firefighters trying to fight the blaze, but officials say there’s little they can do until the region gets some rain – and that’s not forecast until Sunday, if it even arrives.

Some hotspots also sprung up in downtown Fort McMurray Friday.

Scott Long from emergency management said anyone left in the city is putting themselves and first responders at risk.

“You need to get out of the downtown core if that’s where you are,” he said.

“Get out of Fort McMurray if that’s where you are.”

In a bid to curb the risk of further fires, the province has issued an Alberta-wide ban on the use of off-road recreational vehicles. The province was already under a fire ban, and the government had pleaded with people to use ATVs only with extreme care. With nothing by dry conditions in the forecast and the Fort McMurray blaze still out of control, the government upped that to an outright ban on Friday afternoon.

On Friday, the goal was to fly 5,500 people out of northern work camps, which will leave only 4,000 evacuees in the area. By 3 p.m., 1,200 vehicles had already travelled from the camps south on Highway 63. Officials hope to have everyone out by tomorrow.

Cabinet has okayed $200 million for a disaster assistance program for the regional municipality of Wood Buffalo. Earlier in the day, the government announced financial relief of $1,250 per adult and $500 for each dependent.

Municipal Affairs Minister Danielle Larivee said Friday afternoon that the money will hopefully start flowing to evacuees on Wednesday.

She also announced that provincially owned museums and parks would be free from May 15 until September to help families take a break from the fire and recovery.

The affected wildfire area stands at about 105,000 hectares.

Between 80,000 and 90,000 people have been displaced in one of Canada's largest evacuations of its kind by a fire so big you can see it from space.

The fire, which had been on the doorstep of Anzac south of Fort McMurray, has now breached that hamlet. Between 18 and 20 structures have been lost.