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Page 2A WEST East Oregonian Friday, May 6, 2016 Alberta wildire displaces 25,000 people Associated Press FORT MCMURRAY, Alberta — A massive wild- ire raging in the Canadian province of Alberta grew to 210,035 acres and oficials said Thursday they would like to move south about 25,000 evacuees who had previously led north, including 8,000 by air. More than 80,000 people have emptied Fort McMurray in the heart of Canada’s oil sands, authorities said. The Alberta government declared a province-wide ire ban in an effort to reduce the risk of more blazes in a prov- ince that is very hot and dry. “It is a very rare step,” Alberta Environment Minister Shannon Phillips said. Phillips called it an offense to ignore the ban and said it can lead to ines. The government said more than 1,100 ireighters, 145 helicopters, 138 pieces of heavy equipment and 22 air tankers were ighting a total of 49 wildires, with seven considered out of control. Chad Morrison with AB Wildire, manager of wildire prevention, said the blaze grew rapidly, fueled by gusting winds, and he expected the ire to continue to grow Thursday because of dry conditions but it will be away from the community. The ire has torched 1,600 homes and other buildings in Fort McMurray. There have been no injuries or death from the ires. The province of Alberta declared a state of emergency. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said rain is needed. She said she didn’t know how much better the evacuation could have been when asked if ample warning was given Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP A wildire moves towards the town of Anzac from Fort McMurray, Alberta., on Wednesday. Alberta declared a state of emergency Wednesday as crews frantically held back wind-whipped wildires. Unseasonably hot temperatures combined with dry conditions have transformed the boreal forest in much of Alberta into a tinder box. to residents, noting that in 48 hours more than 80,000 people were evacuated from a town that essentially has two roads out of it. Fort McMurray is surrounded by wilderness and is Canada’s main oil sands town. Despite the size of the town and its importance to the Canadian economy, there are essentially only two ways out via car. The region has the third largest reserves of oil in the world behind Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Aided by high winds, scorching heat and low humidity, the ire grew from 29 square miles Tuesday to 38.6 square miles on Wednesday, but by Thursday it was almost nine times that — at 328.2 square miles. The ire remained wrapped around the western and southern edges of the city. No rain clouds were expected around Fort McMurray until late Saturday, with 40 percent chance of showers, according to online forecasts by Environment Canada. The chances drop to 30 percent on Sunday and Monday, with the skies then clearing up, the service reported. About 25,000 evacuees moved north in the hours after Tuesday’s evacuation, where oil sands work camps were being pressed into service to house people. But the bulk of the more than 80,000 evacuees led south to Edmonton and elsewhere, and oficials said they even- tually would like to move everyone south where they have better support for the displaced. Oficials are now trying to ly 8,000 evacuees out of the area starting Thursday afternoon and are hoping the highway becomes safe enough to move people that way. “Our focus right now is on getting those people south as quickly as possible,” Notley said. Government oficials said energy companies in the area were prepared to use their planes in an airlift and a mili- tary aircraft was on standby. Unseasonably hot temperatures combined with dry conditions have trans- formed the boreal forest in much of Alberta into a tinder box. Morrison said they are investigating the cause of the ire but he said it started in a remote forested area and said it could have been lightning. A combination of factors conspired to make this wild- ire especially ferocious, said Bill Patzert, a climatologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labo- Didn’t receive your paper? Call 1-800-522-0255 before noon Tuesday through Friday or before 10 a.m. Saturday for same-day redelivery 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 Ofice hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed major holidays To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to www.eastoregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday, Monday and Dec. 25, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Corrections Classiied & Legal Advertising 1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678 classiieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com NEWS • To submit news tips and press releases: • call 541-966-0818 • fax 541-276-8314 • email news@eastoregonian.com • To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News: email community@eastoregonian.com or call Tammy Malgesini at 541-564-4539 or Renee Struthers in at 541-966-0818. • To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries: email rstruthers@eastoregonian.com or visit www.eastoregonian. com/community/announcements • To submit a Letter to the Editor: mail to Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com. • To submit sports or outdoors information or tips: 541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com Multimedia Consultants • Jeanne Jewett 541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com • Terri Briggs 541-278-2678 • tbriggs@eastoregonian.com • Dayle Stinson 541-966-0806 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com • Stephanie Newsom 541-278-2687 • snewsom@eastoregonian.com • Audra Workman 541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • Chris McClellan 541-966-0802 • cmcclellan@eastoregonian.com SUBSCRIPTION RATES Local home delivery Savings off cover price EZPay $14.50 41 percent 52 weeks $173.67 41 percent 26 weeks $91.86 38 percent 13 weeks $47.77 36 percent *EZ Pay = one-year rate with a monthly credit or debit card/check charge www.eastoregonian.com Single copy price: $1 Tuesday through Friday, $1.50 Saturday COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Manager: Mike Jensen 541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com Copyright © 2016, EO Media Group REGIONAL CITIES Forecast TODAY SATURDAY Partly sunny Very warm with sunshine 80° 52° 82° 56° SUNDAY MONDAY Mostly sunny and not as warm Partly sunny TUESDAY Nice with clouds and sun PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 72° 46° 68° 40° 73° 44° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 85° 55° 88° 60° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW 68° 68° 96° (1966) 50° 44° 29° (1904) PRECIPITATION 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date 0.15" 0.15" 0.17" 4.55" 3.13" 5.32" HERMISTON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH Yesterday Normals Records LOW 71° 70° 95° (1966) 54° 44° 29° (1982) PRECIPITATION 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date 0.59" 0.59" 0.20" 3.57" 1.79" 4.22" SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today New First May 6 May 13 74° 44° 78° 43° Seattle 75/54 ALMANAC Yesterday Normals Records 77° 49° Full 5:35 a.m. 8:09 p.m. 5:54 a.m. 8:14 p.m. Last May 21 May 29 Today Spokane Wenatchee 77/54 84/58 Tacoma Moses 76/46 Lake Pullman Aberdeen Olympia Yakima 85/56 75/52 74/49 79/44 86/57 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 79/50 80/56 Lewiston 87/58 Astoria 81/56 70/50 Portland Enterprise Hermiston 82/55 Pendleton 69/49 The Dalles 85/55 80/52 87/59 La Grande Salem 74/50 82/52 Albany Corvallis 82/51 82/52 John Day 74/54 Ontario Eugene Bend 80/53 79/51 68/46 Caldwell Burns 80/54 70/45 Astoria Baker City Bend Brookings Burns Enterprise Eugene Heppner Hermiston John Day Klamath Falls La Grande Meacham Medford Newport North Bend Ontario Pasco Pendleton Portland Redmond Salem Spokane Ukiah Vancouver Walla Walla Yakima Hi 70 71 68 68 70 69 79 77 85 74 66 74 72 76 65 66 80 86 80 82 72 82 77 70 81 80 86 Lo 50 45 46 54 45 49 51 52 55 54 46 50 48 54 49 53 53 57 52 55 46 52 54 47 53 56 57 W s c c pc c t pc pc pc c t c c c s pc c pc pc s c pc pc c s pc s NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Sat. Hi 65 76 75 65 74 72 79 80 88 76 73 76 74 83 62 62 80 89 82 82 78 81 81 74 81 81 89 Lo 49 44 42 52 44 47 51 52 60 50 41 48 46 52 49 52 51 56 56 53 41 51 54 42 51 58 55 Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. W s pc s pc t pc s s s pc pc s s s s s c s s s s s s s s s s WORLD CITIES Today Beijing Hong Kong Jerusalem London Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Seoul Sydney Tokyo Hi 78 89 67 72 82 67 75 71 67 77 71 Lo 48 80 53 54 51 44 53 51 50 57 62 W s pc pc pc pc s pc pc sh s c Sat. Hi 79 89 68 73 84 70 75 71 72 76 75 Lo 48 79 52 56 56 43 54 53 51 63 62 W pc c s pc pc pc pc pc pc s r WINDS Medford 76/54 (in mph) Klamath Falls 66/46 Boardman Pendleton REGIONAL FORECAST Coastal Oregon: Partial sunshine today; pleasant. Clear tonight. Sunshine and patchy clouds tomorrow. Eastern and Central Oregon: Mostly cloudy today with a thunderstorm in spots; partly sunny across the north. Western Washington: Mostly sunny today. Clear tonight. Sunny tomorrow. Sunday: a shower in places. Eastern Washington: Partly sunny today. Clear to partly cloudy tonight. Plenty of sunshine tomorrow. Cascades: A shower or thunderstorm in spots today; warmer. Clouds and sun across the north. Northern California: A thunderstorm today, but showers of rain and snow in the interior mountains. Today Saturday NNE 8-16 N 7-14 NNE 6-12 NW 4-8 UV INDEX TODAY Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. 1 4 6 6 4 he said. “There’s no way to put out every ember lying over ireighters’ heads.” Fort McMurray resident Fahed Labek, whose relatives from war-torn Syria recently migrated to northern Alberta as refugees, said his family has escaped one ire for another. Labek led the encroaching wildire two days ago with family members, who arrived in Canada in late February. Labek, who made it to Edmonton after a harrowing journey, is concerned the refugees are enduring addi- tional trauma after leaving the Middle East. But he said he’s taking solace in the help- fulness of Canadians now assisting the tens of thou- sands of forest ire evacuees. The ire has dealt a blow to the region’s crude production, with companies curtailing production or stopping it altogether. Notley, the province premier, said the infrastructure for oil and gas production remains largely unaffected. What’s slowing down production is that their employees are not there, she said. The airport only suffered minor damage because of the “herculean”’ efforts of ireighters, said Scott Long of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency. Fireighters have focused on protecting key infrastructure like the water treatment plant, the hospital and the airport. Morrison said four air tankers from Quebec will arrive Thursday and 100 ireighters are arriving from Ontario. The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818. ADVERTISING Advertising Director: Jennine Perkinson 541-278-2683 • jperkinson@eastoregonian.com Subscriber services: For home delivery, vacation stops or delivery concerns: 1-800-522-0255 — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — ratory in California. The El Nino global weather system brought Alberta a mild winter and low snowpack, he said. Patzert said the lames sparked at a time between the snowy season and before springtime rains that turn the landscape green, making the region especially vulnerable to wildire. The lames are moving so fast that they are nearly impossible to ight, he said. “In a way, it’s a perfect storm,” Patzert said. “It’s been warm, it’s been dry and windy. It’s the in-between period before you’re in the full bloom of spring.” The ire is driving one of the largest evacuations in North America in recent memory, said Bill Stewart, co-director of the University of California’s Center for Fire Research and Outreach at the University of California, Berkeley. With few exceptions in the United States, an entire town hasn’t been threatened on this scale for over 100 years, he said, noting rather that devastation has struck neighborhoods and smaller communities in California. There is no stopping the advance of a ire such as the wind-driven lames in Alberta, which is spreading embers well beyond ire lines, Stewart said. He noted that the aggressive ire is also unusual for burning so early in the warm season and so far north. “You could add ive times the number of ireighters, but you can’t get all the embers,” 1 8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m. 0-2, Low 3-5, Moderate 6-7, High; 8-10, Very High; 11+, Extreme The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num- ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection. Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2016 -10s -0s showers t-storms 0s 10s rain 20s flurries 30s 40s snow ice 50s 60s cold front 70s 80s 90s 100s warm front stationary front 110s high low National Summary: A mosaic of rain will affect areas from the Carolinas to southern New England today. Showers and storms will extend from California to the Rockies and along the Canada border in the northern Plains. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 97° in Chandler, Ariz. Low 22° in Angel Fire, N.M. NATIONAL CITIES Today Albuquerque Atlanta Atlantic City Baltimore Billings Birmingham Boise Boston Charleston, SC Charleston, WV Chicago Cleveland Dallas Denver Detroit El Paso Fairbanks Fargo Honolulu Houston Indianapolis Jacksonville Kansas City Las Vegas Little Rock Los Angeles Hi 81 72 54 55 64 74 77 55 74 66 76 63 84 80 70 92 61 83 84 83 70 76 80 71 78 67 Lo 48 51 49 47 49 50 57 47 54 46 58 46 62 48 51 61 43 42 72 57 54 52 60 54 54 55 W pc s r r c s c c pc sh s c pc s s s pc pc pc s s s s t s t Sat. Hi 69 80 59 66 68 82 71 58 81 75 61 71 84 60 69 82 59 72 83 83 79 81 81 72 85 67 Lo 44 61 52 54 47 58 53 50 62 54 41 45 65 40 41 56 38 43 71 62 48 56 60 57 61 56 Today W pc s c c c s t c s pc t t pc t t s pc s pc pc pc s t pc s pc Louisville Memphis Miami Milwaukee Minneapolis Nashville New Orleans New York City Oklahoma City Omaha Philadelphia Phoenix Portland, ME Providence Raleigh Rapid City Reno Sacramento St. Louis Salt Lake City San Diego San Francisco Seattle Tucson Washington, DC Wichita Hi 73 76 81 73 85 73 78 55 81 85 57 78 60 58 64 82 63 66 79 73 69 64 75 80 58 82 Lo 55 56 61 56 55 50 60 51 58 58 50 60 42 47 49 47 48 53 60 53 59 54 54 54 50 59 W s s s s pc s s r s s r pc c sh sh t t t s t t t s pc r s Sat. Hi 82 84 81 57 70 84 81 62 82 73 66 77 54 64 73 63 63 68 86 68 67 66 79 79 68 83 Lo 58 64 65 41 46 62 63 52 62 53 55 62 44 49 57 41 49 53 58 53 59 53 52 55 57 61 Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice. W pc s s c s s s c pc pc c t c c pc c t pc pc sh c pc s pc c pc