Oil sands in Canada face wildfire threat as temperatures rise
, Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) -- Canada’s main oil-producing region in northeastern Alberta faces an increased risk of wildfires as temperatures rise over the weekend, provincial officials said.
This month’s blazes have largely spared the oil sands, but they have hammered the province’s drought-stricken west, forcing the evacuation of as many as 30,000 people and curtailing natural gas output. That pattern is threatening to shift this weekend as temperatures rise and conditions dry out across northern Alberta, Christie Tucker, wildfire information officer, said Thursday.
“The northeast has been relatively less affected than other parts of the province so far,” she said at a press conference. “But that could certainly change because they will be seeing similar conditions to other parts in the north of the province.”
Oil and gas producers have brought output back online in recent days as the blazes in the west die down. Crescent Point Energy Corp. has now restored 85% of the 45,000 barrels a day of oil equivalent Kaybob Duvernay production that was shut due to the fires, up from 75% two days ago, the company said Friday. Chevron Corp., which had evacuated its facilities earlier in the week, has “resumed operations in the Kaybob Duvernay outside of the fire affected area,” spokeswoman Deena McMullen said by email.
Pembina Pipeline Corp. said Thursday that facilities shut due to fires have resumed operations. Peyto Exploration & Development Corp. also said it has restored essentially all production from two plants that were shut.
The output cuts may have affected flows of the light condensate that’s mixed with oil-sands crude to help it move through pipelines, helping strengthen prices for Canadian heavy oil. On Friday, Western Canadian Select’s discount to the US benchmark narrowed 25 cents to $12.85 a barrel, the narrowest in more than a year, data compiled by Bloomberg show. AECO gas prices in Alberta rose 2.9% to C$2.12 per million British thermal units on Thursday.
This year’s wildfires have been far less destructive than those that tore through Canada’s oil sands region seven years ago. The blazes of 2016 shut down more than 1 million barrels of daily crude production and razed whole sections of Fort McMurray, the region’s main city.
Rain showers have helped firefighters bring the most recent series of fires under control in recent days. There are now 74 wildfires, down from more than 80 on Thursday and more 100 earlier in the week. A total of 20 fires are still considered out of control. But Fort McMurray is expected to see temperatures of 32C (90F) on Sunday, according to Environment Canada.
The number of evacuees has fallen to fewer than 17,000 from as many as 31,000 earlier in the week. Meanwhile, hundreds of members of the Canadian armed forces are being deployed in areas including Grande Prairie, Fox Creek and Drayton Valley areas to assist in battling the blazes.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 12, 2023.
Smoke from Alberta wildfires spreading
through Canada and parts of the United
States
The Canadian Press
Smoke from dozens of active wildfires in central Alberta is spreading across the country and in some parts of the United States.
A map created by AirNow that tracks wildfires and air quality in North America shows the smoke from Alberta reaching the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario and New England.
AirNow's partners include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Park Service, as well as several local agencies.
More than 29,000 people in Alberta have been ordered to leave their homes in recent days.
There are 89 active wildfires burning as of this morning, with 26 listed as out of control.
A coronation celebration originally planned for Saturday at the University of Alberta Botanic Garden has been cancelled due to the fires.
Premier Danielle Smith has said military personnel are to be deployed to prevent looting and maintain order in evacuated communities.
The provincial government has announced one-time payments worth $1,250 per adult and $500 per dependent child are to be available as early as today for those forced to spend at least seven straight days away from home.
Parts of Alberta are experiencing cooler temperatures and even light rain as the province remains under a state of emergency while dozens of wildfires continue raging.
The government is warning, however, that a return to hot and dry conditions is expected and that fires can reignite even after several days of light rain.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2023.
'The devil': Métis settlement looks to rebuild from wildfire as hot weather to return
Story by The Canadian Press • Yesterday
A Métis settlement devastated by an out-of-control blaze remains at risk as hot and dry conditions in Alberta's forecast threaten to worsen an already intense wildfire season.
"That fire, I call it the devil. I've never seen a fire like that in my life," said Raymond Supernault, chair of the East Prairie Métis Settlement.
"I never seen a fire like that come that quick and fast and go through the settlement and burn everything in its sight."
Driving through the settlement around 165 kilometres east of Grande Prairie, the ground is charred black, electrical poles look like matchsticks and 14 homes were consumed by the inferno.
Around 80 per cent of the community was touched by the blaze in some way or another. It's an overwhelming loss for the community of around 300, Supernault said.
Family pictures, heirlooms and important history for the Métis families vanished in ash. A bridge needed by some families to return home was also destroyed.
The settlement is not out of the woods yet. Temperatures in the high 20s and low to mid-30s are expected in some areas of the province over the coming days, with daytime highs soaring up to 15 degrees above normal.
"That's going to be hot. The fires will start rising again," Supernault said. "That's the scary part."
There were 78 active wildfires in the province as of Friday night, including 22 out of control. About 16,000 people from several other communities in central and northern Alberta remained out of their homes.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was in Grande Prairie surveying the fire zone and meeting with local officials and Indigenous leaders.
About 300 members of the Canadian Armed Forces are set to be deployed to help with the blazes over the next few days. About 100 of those soldiers will be sent to the area around Grand Prairie and the settlement.
Related video: Wildfires are raging — and Albertans are rallying to help (cbc.ca)Duration 1:16 View on Watch
The help will be a reprieve for community members after the fire rapidly tore through the East Prairie Métis Settlement a week ago.
People were given an hour to flee. Supernault said within seven hours, the community was destroyed.
A provincial state of emergency was put in place the following day.
"I never thought I'd have to see something like this in my lifetime," Supernault said
Some community members stayed behind to save what they could. The settlement has a long history of firefighting. Supernault said residents are also slashers, equipment operators and truck drivers with skills to save as many homes as possible.
"We always fought fire growing up, that used to be our source of work," said Brad Desjarlais, who stayed behind to help.
The spruce, muskeg, poplar trees and dry grass lit up quickly as locals did what they could on the ground to keep the flames away from homes, Desjarlais explained.
A small amount of rain this week helped their efforts, but he said hot spots remain.
The Alberta government announced it will join the federal government in a donation-matching program with the Canadian Red Cross that would see every $1 donated become $3.
Supernault said it's difficult for the Métis settlement to navigate jurisdictional issues between the province and federal government when it comes to getting help and funding. They will need to rebuild homes, put up power poles and repair the bridge — all with a significant price tag.
East Prairie is one of eight Métis settlements in the province. It is land-based and self-governing, but not the same as a First Nation reserve.
Elders have often talked about how hard it was when they first came to the area, Supernault said. They were called "roadside people" and lived in tar shacks.
Their forbearers made their permanent home on this land in the 1930s, Supernault said.
"They built it for us and we have to make sure we take care of it," Supernault said.
"No matter how burnt it is, the green grass is going to come back. the houses will come back."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 12, 2023.
Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Fort_McMurray_wildfire 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire - Wikipedia On May 1, 2016, a wildfire began southwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. On May 3, it swept through the community, forcing the largest wildfire ... https://globalnews.ca/news/3138183/fort-mcmurray-wildfire-named-canadas-news-story-of-2016 Fort McMurray wildfire named Canada's news story of 2016 Dec 20, 2016 ... The ferocious Fort McMurray, Alberta wildfire that forced nearly 90,000 to flee Canada's oilsands region and reduced thousands of homes to ... https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/fort-mcmurray-five-years-on-from-disaster Forged by fire: Fort McMurray 5 years after the disaster | C... May 3, 2021 ... The fire started on May 1, 2016 and swept through the community, forcing more than 80,000 people to flee their homes on May 3. Among them, ... https://cdd.publicsafety.gc.ca/dtprnt-eng.aspx?cultureCode=en-Ca&eventTypes=%27WF%27&normalizedCostYear=1&dynamic=false&eventId=1135&prnt=both Fort McMurray fire - Canadian Disaster Database In May 2016, wildfires broke out in northern Alberta resulting in the most expensive natural disaster in the history of Canada. The city of Fort McMurray, ... |
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