Fort McMurray wildfire that forced evacuations did not grow overnight

globalnews.ca:

An Alberta Wildfire official said Thursday the out-of-control fire burning near Fort McMurray, which forced thousands of people out of their homes, did not grow overnight and noted more rain is expected in the region.

Alberta Wildfire information unit manager Christie Tucker joined Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen at a news conference in Edmonton on Thursday morning to provide an update on the provincial wildfire situation and spoke at length about the MWF-O17 fire.

Rain could be seen falling in Fort McMurray on Thursday morning although a smoky haze remained in the air. In an update posted on the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo website at 8:30 a.m., officials noted the fire had been remapped overnight, bringing the estimated size down to about 19,820 hectares. It was believed to have been about 21,000 hectares in size on Wednesday night.

The fire remains approximately 4.5 kilometres from the intersection of Highway 63 and Highway 881 and approximately 5.5 kilometres away from an area landfill.

“The weather conditions definitely help as far as firefighting on the ground,” Loewen said.

Tucker noted that despite the precipitation, parts of northern Alberta remain very dry and that “a little bit of rain does not mean that there is a zero chance of starting a wildfire.”

She and Loewen warned Albertans who plan to go camping over the long weekend need to be particularly careful to not start a new fire and to observe all fire bans and restrictions.

“Overnight aerial operations took place until 4 a.m. with night vision-equipped aircraft, with 31,000 gallons of water dropped,” officials said on the RMWB website. “The focus was the eastern edge of the wildfire.

“Ground operations continued building containment line