[kiwichick]

will this set any of the tar sand areas alight?

[onlooker]

"Major oil sands facilities were not in the path of the flames, but companies' efforts to help employees and evacuees and protect pipelines led to a decline in production."
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-canad ... SKCN0XU2D8

[onlooker]

Some conflicting reports : "It would seem the worst has happened. The tar sands have caught fire"
Once the fire is in the tar sands they may NEVER put it out
http://robinwestenra.blogspot.co.nz/201 ... d-tar.html

[onlooker]

Sorry to keep posting but things are happening fast there. Apparently, this story confirms that indeed the a tar sands site is ablaze. http://www.desmogblog.com/breaking-news ... te-alberta

[clif]

OL the last story you listed is from 2011.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'B')reaking News: Fire Breaks Out At Tar Sands Site in Alberta

By Emma Pullman • Thursday, January 6,2011 - 16:27

[onlooker]

Thanks cliff for catching that. Sorry.

[GoghGoner]

Evacuation area has expanded to the south and the fire is going strong. Many homes to be rebuilt and a big mess to get cleaned up once the residents are able to return, however, they being pushed down to Edmonton now.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')s of late Wednesday, more than 600,000 barrels a day had been taken off the market.

[Newfie]

If they are rebuilt. My understanding was a lot of production was already shut down and housing prices were rapidly declining from ridiculous levels. Is that not true?

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Newfie', 'I')f they are rebuilt. My understanding was a lot of production was already shut down and housing prices were rapidly declining from ridiculous levels. Is that not true?

[GoghGoner]

Good point on the already dismal state of affairs due the low oil price.

Oil futures jump as Canadian wildfire threatens output


$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '�')��Taken together this amounts to some 0.5 million [barrels a day] of capacity that is currently offline. Infrastructure is being affected too, with the 560,000 b/d Corridor pipeline shut down and movement along the 140,000 b/d Polaris pipeline significantly curtailed. On top of that, trains are not operating near Fort McMurray, according to the Canadian National Railway,” said the analysts.

Meanwhile, in Libya, tensions between rival factions stopped a Glencore cargo from loading. An oil official from Tripoli warned that the country’s oil output could drop by 120,000 barrels a day if the Benghazi-backed National Oil Corporation set up by the rival eastern government continues to block tankers, Reuters reported.

[Cog]

If you are invested in oil stocks right now, you are going to see a spike, at least in the short term. Enjoy the ride.

[vox_mundi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Cog', 'I')f you are invested in oil stocks right now, you are going to see a spike, at least in the short term. Enjoy the ride.

[Paulo1]

My son's two buddies lost their homes in this fire. They have been evacuated and are staying with friends.

Up thread someone said they didn't have a second life to wait for the forest to grow back. It doesn't take that long. I have seen the results of hundreds of these fires. It greens up, starting the next spring. Within a few years the burnt black spruce and jackpine are replaced with poplar and brush. Wildlife explodes with the improved browse. The Govt. may even hire ag planes to do some aerial seeding of grasslands. You will see a resurgence of moose, deer and elk populations, and up there probably bison too; lots of black bears. Grouse will thrive with new seed production. After many years the jackpine and spruce return and the fire process starts all over again.

The boreal burning is a natural process. It is only man that puts the fires out, or thinks it is necessary. Of course to save lives and towns it is necessary. I have seen fires burn all summer, ragged in effect and what is missed, but fires 100 miles long. Drive along the Alaska Hwy between Liard Hot Springs and Lower Post and appreciate it burnt in the 80s. I know, I was there.

In the northern Rockies fires are sometimes deliberately set to improve browse for Stone Sheep. For them to survive winters the outcroppings must be free from trees in order for the winds to blow the snow off and expose browse. A mature coniferous forest is pretty to look at in pictures, but is quite lifeless....just waiting to burn.

The oil sands production of petroleum products has dick all to do with this fire except for the inherent irony. Texas releases 656 million metric tons of C02/years.... Oil Sands 40. Smug California releases 364....almost 10X what the Oil sands release.

regards

[vox_mundi]

Paulo1, sorry to hear about your son's friends

Fire is now 85,000 hectares in size (328 Sq. Mi) - Larger than New York City

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')upercharged by winds of up to 70 km/h, the Fort McMurray wildfire ballooned to 85,000 hectares overnight and is now raging across a wide front south of the city. Fire is expected to keep growing in south east but it will be blowing AWAY from the community, for now.

Fire conditions remain extreme, with 18 new starts yesterday. A total of 49 wildfires are burning, with seven considered out of control, 12 being held, 23 under control, and seven turned over to the responsible parties.

8,000 evacuees north of fire will be flown out; plan is for remaining 12,000 to drive south when roads are safe.

[vox_mundi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Newfie', '.').. I have some relatives up there.

[onlooker]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dohboi', '[')img]https://images.scribblelive.com/2016/5/5/4af07447-6762-4af9-a196-5d32e9c5de38.jpg[/img]

http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/br ... fire-may5/

[Newfie]

What ol did to Newfoundland was to concentrate folks into the St John's area. The outports are largely depopulated. Nearly half the population is centered around St John's. Yup, they are getting hit hard.

[onlooker]

Here is a close up eye witness view of the devastation. Surreal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC2iPvXAggM

[WildRose]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('onlooker', 'H')ere is a close up eye witness view of the devastation. Surreal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC2iPvXAggM

[WildRose]

I live in Alberta rockdoc. I'm aware of the decreased snowfalls of recent winters, milder temperatures, hardly any standing water in early spring - there was not much moisture for the forest to begin with, since we had hardly any snow. Do you know that outdoor skating is something we can hardly do in Alberta now in the winter? We're lucky if we can keep an ice rink going for 4 weeks or so with the constant melting during the day and lack of good, cold temperatures at night. I used to run in winter temperatures of -30 to -35, haven't had to dress for that in a long time. Being an outdoor enthusiast, I see and feel the dryness, look at the trees and know they're struggling, see varieties of plants and weeds growing that have appeared from the south and grow here now. And the wind - all year long. Used to only be strong for 6 weeks or so in the spring, you could expect it then, but now it's rare to have a calm day. How do you explain all of this with just "weather"?