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Convoy of Evacuees Now Moving Through a Devastated Fort McMurray as Wildfire Rages On

"The beast is still up. It's surrounding the city and we're here doing our very best for you," said Fort McMurray fire chief Darby Allen of the blaze that has burned through 85,000 hectares.
A member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police surveys the damage in Fort McMurray. (Photo by RCMP Alberta)

It took Casey Sutherland and his Jeep about 10 minutes to push through the town he had fled three days ago as a roaring wildfire pawed at its edges.

As soon as he crested over the hill on Highway 63 in Fort McMurray, the smoke cleared.

"It's a beautiful day, to be honest," said Sutherland, one of several hundred people who joined a convoy of evacuees that were escorted by police and military helicopter south, through the town, and to safety on Friday.

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These are the people who were sent north in the chaos of an unexpectedly overwhelming wildfire in the heart of Canada's oil sands that forced an entire city, and its 85,000 souls, out. They have been housed in work camps in the oil fields for three days.

And on Friday, at first light, a slow crawl of vehicles began the trek that would take them through the core of the city and the southern neighborhoods hardest hit by the blaze.

Today on — VICE Canada (@vicecanada)May 5, 2016

"What could be seen from where we were driving — there was a lot of rumour and speculation from people about how much damage was sustained, but it was less than what I expected," said Sutherland. "That's not to diminish the catastrophic loss of the people in Beacon Hill, Abasand, and all the neighborhoods closer to the treeline. I was surprised going through that there wasn't more. It's really smoky right now."

He had heard that Gregoire Lake Estates, a community just outside Fort Mac that had served as a haven until it too had to be evacuated, was "gone."

"But that wasn't the case… it was more the industrial stuff way back," he said.

The fire has burned through 85,000 hectares, actually ballooning to eight times its size — or roughly the equivalent footprint of the city of Calgary — since the alarm first rang on Tuesday. At least 1,600 structures have been destroyed and officials have indicated it will be a while before residents can return to what is left of their homes.

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"We're still here, we're still battling," said Darby Allen, fire chief for Fort McMurray, in a video message posted to Twitter late on Thursday. "Things have calmed down a little bit in the city but guys are out there, as we speak, fighting fires. Trying to protect your property. The beast is still up. It's surrounding the city and we're here doing our very best for you."

Related: 'It's a Fucking Ghost Town': Inside Canada's Fort McMurray As It Burns

Chad Morrison, of Alberta Forestry, said the fire's growth was happening in forested areas, away from residences. Some 22 water bombers were at work, including some from out of province. But he stressed: "air tankers are not going to stop this fire. It is going to continue to push through these dry conditions until we actually get some significant rain."

In a press conference Thursday evening, provincial officials detailed how they would move the residents out and suggested they head to the major cities of Edmonton and Calgary.

The province had hoped to start moving people out by road on Thursday, but deemed it unsafe to do so.

"We did not want people being overcome as they were going through," Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said at a press conference on Thursday.

Fuel was transported north overnight to ready the convoy for the 435 kilometer journey to Edmonton, the provincial capital and the closest major city.

'The beast is still up. It's surrounding the city and we're here doing our very best for you.'

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"The intention is that the convoy with air support would make its way down Highway 63 through the city of Fort McMurray and then straight south towards Edmonton and points beyond," Notley said.

May 5 - 10:50 p.m. A brief message from Darby Allen — RMWB (@RMWoodBuffalo)May 6, 2016

Scott Long, with Alberta's Emergency Management Agency, said a helicopter from the Department of National Defence will be flying ahead "to make sure that there is no issues", while an escort of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on the ground, in the front and the back. "They will be done in a packet, controlled manner," he said at a press conference Thursday night.

"What we're trying to do is encourage them to go the two major centers because that's where we have the greatest number of services, both in terms of health, income support, mental health support as well as the capacity to absorb the students into the school system," said Notley.

Related: Apocalyptic Alberta Wildfire Could Stunt Canada's Economy as Oil Production Slows

Sutherland says that the upheaval hasn't sunk in for him yet. He's been focusing on the immediate, and what's going to happen now?

"All of the things you could lose aren't the focus. It's the disruption of your daily life. It felt like a bad dream, almost," he said. "You always think these things happen to other people, it doesn't happen to you, and then when you live through something like this – I noticed that for me, I haven't been anxious because I've been well taken care of, but my fiancé and all my loved ones, they're really worries because of the way it's been presented, but I've been fine. It's been handled really well."

Follow Natalie Alcoba on Twitter: @nataliealcoba