High winds push Fort McMurray wildfire toward Suncor and Syncrude plants

The "beast" wildfire burning out of control around Fort McMurray will be pushed east today, spurred by high winds, and is expected to encroach on major oilsands facilities owned by Suncor and Syncrude, officials say.

Those massive plants north of the city, used to process bitumen, are surrounded by wide barriers of cleared firebreak and gravel, and employ their own firefighting crews.

"We expect the [fire] to move east towards Suncor's facility, Northlands sawmill and potentially towards northern portions of Fort McMurray," said Chad Morrison, senior wildfire manager. "But we're still optimistic that firefighters will continue to hold those northern neighbourhoods."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/fort-mcmurray-firefighters-1.3585597