Workers evacuated from Alberta oil camps due to wildfire

Suncor, one of the major operators working on Canada’s oil sands, issued a news release late Monday confirming it had “started a staged and orderly shutdown of our base plant operations” and that personnel were being transported to work camps farther north.

The workers had been trying to restart oil production at the facilities after they were halted by the fires and by the need to house a flood of people from Fort McMurray seeking safety.

The fire destroyed more than 2,400 structures in Fort McMurray, although firefighters managed to save essential infrastructure in the oil sands capital, including the hospital, water treatment plant and the airport.

“Alberta Health Services has recommended that members of the public who had been previously arranging to return to the area under various requests not return until those conditions improve,” Notley said at a news conference in Edmonton.

Karen Grimsrud, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, said they expect the air quality readings to remain in the extreme range for the next couple of days.