Photos

Devastating Wildfire Evacuates All of Fort McMurray, Canada (PHOTOS)

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Firefighters and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers greet returning residents from an overpass on Highway 63 just outside Fort McMurray, Alberta, on June 1, 2016. Tens of thousands of Fort McMurray residents were expected to begin trickling back into the Canadian oil city ravaged by wildfires almost a month after the blaze was declared no longer a threat.

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Firefighters and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers greet returning residents from an overpass on Highway 63 just outside Fort McMurray, Alberta, on June 1, 2016. Tens of thousands of Fort McMurray residents were expected to begin trickling back into the Canadian oil city ravaged by wildfires almost a month after the blaze was declared no longer a threat.

A large, dangerous wildfire invaded the town of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, forcing at least 88,000 people to flee the flames.

The evacuation order was issued May 3 as the inferno, aided by warm, dry weather and windy conditions, pushed closer to the town. In a matter of hours, the blaze burned hundreds of homes and leapt over roadways and containment lines.

"It was apocalyptic," said Fort McMurray resident Will Flett. "Each side of the highway was engulfed in flames. I could feel the heat. Even with my windows turned up and the air conditioning on, I could still feel the heat of the fire on both sides of me."

(MORE: Latest News on the Wildfire | What You Should Know)

As of the last update, the wildfire had burned more than 595,000 acres of land – an area more than half the size of Rhode Island. In the Beacon Hill neighborhood, officials said 70 percent of the homes destroyed. Across the city, more than 2,400 homes and businesses were lost, and some evacuees were forced to leave shelters and move even further away as the fire continued to spread.

Officials are working on a plan to return evacuees home, but that may take as many as two weeks.

"I know how stressful it is to leave everything behind and to be away from home for a prolonged time," Danielle Larivee, Alberta's municipal affairs minister, told reporters. "I know how strong the desire is in the aftermath of an event like this to get home and start putting your life back together."

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