(Fort Mcmurray) An evacuation alert has been issued in Alberta for Fort McMurray as an out-of-control wildfire burns nearby.
Residents in the area north of the tar sands and the neighboring community of Saprae Creek are asked to be prepared to leave quickly.
Alberta Wildfire says the fire is about 16 kilometers southwest of Fort McMurray.
The province’s forest fire service said late in the afternoon that the fire was about two square kilometers in size, but by early evening it had reached 10 square kilometers.
Fort McMurray has approximately 68,000 residents.
A forest fire in 2016 destroyed around 2,400 homes.