[GoghGoner]

http://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/smoke-clears-over-fort-mcmurray-wildfire-and-its-bigger-than-previously-thought

On Saturday mandatory evacuation orders were lifted for seven oilsands sites including, Millenium, Borealis, Hudson, Noralta, and Ruth Lake lodge, as well as Suncor Base Plant and Syncrude Mildred Lake Plant.

Oilsands camps south of Anzac, including Nexen Long Lake, HML Lodge, Gregoire River, Nexen Kinosis, PTI Kinosis, PTI Anzac, Surmont and Cheecham Lodge, will begin a phased re-entry so assessment work can begin. Guest occupancy is not permitted until safety inspections are completed, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo said in a news release Sunday.

Fort McMurray residents are expected to be able to start returning home on June 1 on a voluntary, phased basis.

The municipality has released a timeline and map outlining the phased re-entry plan.

[Subjectivist]

People are getting ready to go home to Fort McMurray and some of them will be packing bear spray into their suitcases.

The Alberta BearSmart organization warns there will be more bear encounters than usual this year, as much of the bears' natural habitat has been scorched by wildfire so they're foraging for food in the abandoned city.

​​Black bears scavenging empty Fort McMurray
​Wildlife officers trapping bears after stinky trash in fire-damaged Fort McMurray
Dan LeGrandeur, a wildlife conflict specialist with Bear Scare, taught families to use bear spray and whistles at a wildlife safety event in Nisku on Saturday.

He said the animals are especially hungry and determined after months of hibernation.

"They're hungry at this time of year and they have a real innate need to eat and find food," he said.

Hot weather could make matters worse as natural food sources such as berries dry up, said LeGrandeur. He said bear spray is the best defence, calling it "pepper spray" for bears.

"This will save your life," he said about the can of spray strapped to his belt.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ ... -1.3605345

[Plantagenet]

....bear spray is the best defence, calling it "pepper spray" for bears.

"This will save your life," he said about the can of spray strapped to his belt.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ ... -1.3605345[/quote]

Actually a 44 magnum is even more effective.

Bears will attack humans under some circumstances. If a bear attacks, a shot of bear spray will drive off some bears---but other bears will ignore the bear spray and continue the attack.

[Tanada]

The good news is, the bulk of the population can safely return and resume their normal lives after they clean up. Of course not everyone is going to have that level of resumption right away, some properties are deemed to hazardous for occupation pending repairs, and some properties were a total loss.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ ... -1.3608701

"Damage assessments show that about 2,500 residences were lost, and these include single family, semi-detached, townhouses, apartments and potential basement rentals," Health Minister Sarah Hoffman said during an evacuee town hall last week.

"The majority of the homes are either livable or salvageable which is a tremendous achievement in the face of this wildfire."

The staged re-entry plans for the rest of the 90,000 evacuees is on schedule to begin Wednesday.

The fire is still burning, covers just under 580,000 hectares, although it is not expected to grow significantly in the coming days as damper conditions provide some much-needed relief to the 2,000 firefighters now battling the blaze.

[WildRose]

People returning to Fort McMurray have much work to do when they get home. Alberta Health Services has provided them with pamphlets, clean-up kits, long lists of what to do and what not to do, to keep well and safe. Mental health services are available for those who find the process overwhelming. I wonder when the boil water advisory will be lifted. Some people will be delaying returning just because of the water situation, as they are afraid their children could become ill if they forget any of the steps in using water safely.

Have a look at the information below:

http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/ass ... r-home.pdf

[GoghGoner]

Petro-Canada gas stations in B.C. and Alberta running out of gas

"We're out of gas and unless we can get it from a third party then we'll be out three to five weeks," said Tianna Byers, an employee at the Petro-Canada on Highway 97 in Kelowna.

"The fire in Fort Mac has reached a place called Wood Buffalo in Alberta, which is our supplier so we can't get any more gas."

[Tanada]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ ... -1.3612032

As Robyn Keats stepped inside her Timberlea home for the first time since the frenzied evacuation from Fort McMurray nearly a month ago, it was as if time stood still.

Keats and her family fled Fort McMurray, when a wildfire so powerful it was tagged "The Beast" forced more than 90,000 residents in the northern Alberta community to flee for their lives.

On Wednesday as the mandatory evacuation orders were lifted for residents in the downtown, Keats broke the re-entry guidelines, and returned to her home in the north-end neighbourhood of Timberlea a day early.

"Coming down it was really bad to look into Waterways. It was like devastation. And we both had our little cry," said Keats, a stay-at-home mom.

As she snaked her way through the eerily quiet streets of her neighbourhood with her six-year-old son Simon in the back seat, Keats feared her home would be blanketed with suffocating ash and dust.

But that fear was soon replaced with a flood of relief.

"It was like a time capsule. Our bread wasn't moldy, our furnace filter was clean. And we're home."

"I went in, and I didn't even have dust. It was just like time was frozen still."

And although the house was pristine, completely unscathed by the fire, Keats admits that the raw chicken she left in the kitchen was a far less inviting part of her home-coming.

Like so many others who lost electricity to their homes throughout the disaster, her fridge has turned into a putrid mess.

"That is nasty. You don't know what food is there, and it's like a guessing game. You see it and it's all green and yellow."

After scrubbing down the house, she made her way to Wal-mart where she was picking out new shoes for Simon, who seems to be adjusting well to life back in a city largely unrecognizable from the one he left just a few weeks ago.

"I wanted to come back," he said. "But I would like to play outside."

Even so, Keats says the first sight of the city and the neighbourhoods reduced to ashes remains a gut-wrenching reminder of what her family could have lost in the fire.

"When I see that, I feel blessed because I still have my kid and I still got to go home."

And even through tears, Keats smiles as she talks about how Fort McMurray can rebuild, and move forward after the fire.

"You have to be there to help your friends that you know have lost everything, and you look at the positives.

"Instead of coming into town, looking at Centennial Park that's gone, look at Gregoire."

"Coming down the hill, you have Waterways and Beaconhill that are gone, but look at the fresh grass, look at the re-growth.

"That's all you can do, is keep positive."

[Tanada]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-ed ... -1.3613765

Shannon Comeau cried tears of joy when she returned home to Fort McMurray on Thursday to find her house still standing, dandelions on her lawn and a surprise from her husband.

Comeau, who is from Charlottetown, and her husband and three kids were forced to flee the Fort McMurray wildfires with thousands of others in early May. She spent the last month living with her husband's parents outside Edmonton.

Her husband, Steve Kugler, returned a few days ago, and told her he would have to be at work when she arrived on Thursday.

But when she opened the door, still on the phone describing the scene live to CBC's Matt Rainnie on Island Morning, her husband was there to surprise her.

"I didn't know he was going to be here," she said through tears.

Comeau was already overcome with emotion from the moment she opened the garage door. It reminded her of the day she fled the fires.

'I stood in that garage and I thought I wasn't coming home.'
– Shannon Comeau

"I stood in that garage and I thought I wasn't coming home, so seeing the garage is a big deal, I guess," she said. "That's where I had to go hide for a minute to have a bit of breakdown because I couldn't do it in front of the kids, so as soon as that garage door opened that was it, it had that memory flood back."

Her kids are still with her husband's parents. Before they come, she'll spend a few days steam cleaning the carpets and washing the walls.

And, of course, celebrating their homecoming.

"Now I just want to open up the deck and have an East Coast kitchen party," she said.

[onlooker]

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fort-mcmurr ... -oil-city/
Homecoming begins for residents of fire-ravaged Canadian city – ‘It is not a clean, safe, normal environment that you're walking into’

[Tanada]

Dutchess Sabovitch spent the weekend washing every piece of linen in her Fort McMurray, Alta. home.

The former Winnipeg woman and her husband arrived back in the northern Alberta city on Saturday evening, more than a month after they were forced to flee a raging a wildfire on a motorcycle.

Sabovitch drove back to the city in a rented pickup truck Saturday from Edmonton. The drive was emotional, she said.

"At the junction of [highways] 63 and 881 was the first time I saw any damage," she told CBC News. "It was horrific and it choked me [up]. That's the route to my husband's work."

"I thought 'My god if he had been there, he could have been trapped in there and we would never have been able to be together,'" she said.

On the other hand, Sabovitch said seeing the numerous billboard and signs with well-wishes and good messages on the highway was something that amazed her.

Her home is one of the many that was left standing but her son wasn't so lucky. By the time he evacuated his front lawn was on fire and he lost his home to the fire, she said.
A big 'Fort Mac' family

Sabovitch spent the weekend cleaning her home, washing linens, emptying her fridge and preparing to welcome her son and a couple family friends who also have no home to return to.

"I have a friend in the forestry department ... who will probably be living in our basement and my husband's best friend from work will probably be staying here as well," she said. "We'll have a big Fort Mac family now."
Forest behind her home destroyed

While Sabovitch said she's glad to be back in her house, she prefers to look out the front windows. Looking out back is too devastating.

"There was a forest and behind the forest there was marsh and then behind that there was more forest and there were houses," she said. "Those houses on the other side burned. The forest burned and the marsh burned."

"When we want to see happy things we look out the front," Sabovitch said. Happy things like a blooming garden in the front and her neighbours, who have also returned.

"As we drove into the driveway we went over to our next door neighbours to say hello and she was just amazing," Sabovitch said. "She came... hugs all around."

"The mom took me aside and she's crying," she added. And she says, 'You know I haven't been able to cry because the kids have been here and I've had to be so strong.'"
Planting what was lost

"It's cleaning up and taking care of our friends who have greater needs," said Sabovitch. "That's what's going on here for the next quite some time I'm sure."

Sabovitch said she brought two trees back to Fort McMurray with her to start replanting what was lost. She plans to get together with her neighbours to plant the trees once things settle down.

She said the next little while will be a little bit more of a challenge but she's up for it.

"You do what you have to do to support the people you love and that's the way it's going to be," she said.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/ ... -1.3617463

[Tanada]

Empty shelves line the Canadian Tire in Fort McMurray, but the dust has been wiped off.

Employees and volunteers are working to reopen the store as the city comes back to life. Flames left the building untouched, yet the wildfire still managed to empty the shelves inside.

When Fort McMurray evacuated last month, managers handed their keys to firefighters. Crews used the store's inventory of chainsaws, axes, fire extinguishers and work boots to counter the wildfire.

As the flames moved away, bags of pet food went towards feeding the animals left behind.

Once evacuees flooded back into the city, a group of employees dug out the supplies they needed.
Like spinning plates

Running the business is like spinning plates says Ray McDonald, who owns the Fort McMurray Canadian Tire.

Normally, he divides his attention between a handful of tasks to make sure all departments are operating smoothly.

Now, McDonald says he's doing his best not to let anything drop.

Flames didn't get close enough to singe the building, but environmental testing done in the store after the fire passed showed particle pollution.

When McDonald returned to Fort McMurray he faced a massive cleanup with just a fraction of his usual staff to help. Out of 115 full-time employees, less than 30 said they could take shifts.

They worked with volunteers to wipe down the store's surfaces and solid items, to vacuum the vents. They threw out all food and anything made of absorbent material.

"It is a tremendous amount of inventory," McDonald said.
A painful way of doing business

Since customers aren't allowed into the store yet, they lined up outside. Store runners take each person's order individually, go inside, find the required item, wipe it down, and then carry it out to the customer.

McDonald describes it as a painful business model.

He's optimistic the store will reopen to customers on June 7, and that the shelves will be restocked by the end of the month.

"I'm hoping a month from now this will be a distant memory," he said. "We have a community that has that strong background already, so I feel that we're in good shape going forward.

"We will rebuild."

As more and more evacuees return to Fort McMurray, McDonald says he wants to have the tools ready to do just that.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ ... -1.3617537

[GoghGoner]

Some oil supply has come back online.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-wildfire-oil-idUSKCN0YT21M

At least 400,000 barrels per day production is still offline although in reality that number is likely far higher as many producers are still in the process of ramping back up to normal rates. In addition, Suncor Energy's (SU.TO) base plant and the Syncrude project still need to finish maintenance turnarounds interrupted by the fire.

I know I paid the most of gasoline in the Midwest since last summer this past week. Some affect has to be the jostling around to supply Canadians. Reminds me of the exact same affect that a hurricane creates on gasoline -- raise the price in the area of a shortage and it will be economical for oil trucks to take their product there to disperse the supply far enough where everybody gets their gas.

http://cfjctoday.com/article/529171/travelers-running-fuel-shortages-merritt

Shell in Merritt ran out over the weekend, while Petro-Canada in Merritt has been down since Friday.

In the case of Petro-Can, many of its stations across the Thompson-Okanagan, including in Kamloops, have run dry. The supplier, Suncor, says the impact of the Fort McMurray wildfires and an outage at a refinery in Edmonton have impacted fuel production.

"We have been bringing in additional gasoline from both within our own network but also from other companies," says Suncor spoksperson Sneh Seetal. "We're moving that product primarily by truck or rail. We are also managing the inventory we have available to ensure we maintain adequate supply."

[Tanada]

As is almost always the case, even those who lost everything want to return "home".

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ ... -1.3623199

Amanda Gergely knew her townhouse in Abasand had burnt to the ground long before she saw the pile of ash to prove it.

But until she saw that ash on Wednesday, it was tough to believe the first home she owned with her husband, Chad, was really gone.

The townhouse at 130 Almond Crescent with the tan siding was proudly renovated shortly after they moved in during the summer of 2008. The young couple didn't bother with a key — they had a pin pad, and all their friends knew the numbers to get in.

Today, there's barely a hint that a house full of memories ever existed in that cul-de-sac.

"I guess you kind of hope when you come back up, maybe you'll see something different from the photos," Gergely said. "I originally wanted to go through my ashes. Now I'm ok with not. I don't think I'll find anything."

Gergely did retrieve one thing — a water bill, from the mailbox that still stands on the corner.

She's not sure if she'll pay it.

Residents were allowed to return for 12 hours to Beacon Hill, Abasand and Waterways on Wednesday, the first day the blockades were opened for the neighbourhoods badly-damaged by last month's wildfire.

Although many areas of these neighbourhoods remain standing, for safety reasons, residents still can't return home for good. They won't be able to until the debris is cleared away. There's no solid timeline for that, but it could take months.

Eighty-five soil samples taken from the three neighbourhoods on June 2 showed dangerously high levels of benzene (a known cancer-causing chemical), toluene and ethyl-benzene, along with other chemicals.

Every sample taken contained levels of toxic chemicals in excess of maximum standards set by the Alberta government, with some levels multiple times higher than what would be expected in the environment.

The province says the results are consistent with items on residential property which can burn, like vehicle tires.

Everyone entering the neighbourhoods on Wednesday was given a mask. They also had to wear long pants and long sleeves.

Many residents spent the day cleaning and taping up condemned fridges to leave on the curb.

Some took the opportunity to attempt to resume life as usual, cracking some beers on the driveway with neighbours, breathing masks slung over deck chairs.

The Gergelys are taking time to contemplate their next move.

They're currently staying in an apartment in downtown Fort McMurray. It's close to the health clinic that they own. Chad Gergely said he's hearing insurance issues mean it could take up to two years to rebuild their home.

But they want to rebuild in Abasand.

It's the beautiful big spruce and pine trees surrounding the neighbourhood that drew them in, he said.

On Wednesday, just across the road from where entire streets of houses had vanished, little green plants were already sprouting up on the forest floor.

They're ready to start growing again too, Chad said.

"Let's wipe the slate clean and start from scratch again," he said.

"To have us come back stronger than we were would be the stake in the ground to show that Fort McMurray is what it is, and we're as strong as we are."

Canadian media seems to be as gloomy in their reporting as the USA variety. I predict that most of the destroyed homes will be rebuilt much sooner than articles like this predict, unless government regulations forbid it.

Heck from the GDP point of view its all good news because people are having to buy things to replace that which was destroyed which in turn increases demand and stimulates the economy. Its the old saw about how a neighborhood with an occasional broken window is healthier than one where everything is perfect, from an economist POV.

[Tanada]

The fine for illegal entry into the worst-hit neighbourhoods is between $1,000 and $10,000. People who don't pay the fine face six months in jail.

Chief legislative officer David Leflar had to tell the crowd several times that the fines do not apply to people who live in those neighbourhoods.

"If a person is found there and refuses to leave," Leflar said, "I would presume you would want the ability to issue them a ticket and fine them. Not the residents."
Let families go home if they can

Councillors passed the bylaw by a 9-2 margin after it was amended to remove heavy fines and jail time for illegal entry by residents,

Coun. Keith McGrath was one of the votes against. He agreed with the changes, but feels the bylaw delays reentry for those with undamaged homes.

"People that have free-standing homes in the devastated areas, they can use independent consultants to get the toxicology and soil samples, said McGrath.

"If these places are livable, then why not let these families come home because at the end of the day, if people want to come home, we should knock down every wall possible to make sure that happens."

Coun. Lance Bussieres lost his home in the fire, but voted in favour of the bylaw.

He was in support of the amendment that requires council to review the need for the bylaw in six weeks rather than 90 days.

"I can tell you there are a lot of people in this city that don't have options" said Bussieres.

"There are going to be people, unfortunately that cannot rebuild because insurance monies will run out or whatever."

"I hope tomorrow morning, we as a council, and our administration, [will] try to do a better job for our citizens," said Bussieres. "Because I think we just kicked them in the private parts tonight as hard as we could."

The council will meet again on Tuesday.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ ... -1.3637621

[Tanada]

Some residents of Fort McMurray can celebrate tonight with a nice cold glass of unboiled water.

"Some really good news today," said Bob Couture, director of the Regional Emergency Operations Centre, on Thursday.

"For all communities north of the Athabasca River the boil water advisory has been lifted."

That means the advisory has been lifted in the neighbourhoods of Thickwood, Wood Buffalo, Dickinsfield, Timberlea, Parsons Creek North, Eagle Ridge, Stone Creek and the TaigaNova Eco-Industrial Park.

Earlier in June, the advisory was lifted in Grayling Terrace and the Lower Townsite.

Boil water advisory lifted for Fort McMurray's Lower Townsite area

Alberta Health Services is advising all people who live in areas where the advisory has been lifted should flush, clean and sanitize their water pipes, plumbing appliances and water treatment and storage devices. Procedures on how to do that properly can be read here.

The advisory continues in the Abasand, Beacon Hill, Waterways, Gregoire, Mackenzie Park, Saline Creek, Prairie Creek, Saprae Creek, Gregoire Lake Provincial Park, Gregoire Lake Estates, Anzac Truckfill.

Those living in these areas are advised by AHS to "bring water to a rolling boil for at least one minute prior to any consumption."

AHS says that all advisories will be lifted over time but it may take a little longer in areas most impacted by the fire.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ ... -1.3639719

[WildRose]

CBC has reported that people involved in the clean-up efforts in Fort McMurray are falling ill due to working with ozone machines, which the health and safety industry advises against using in occupied spaces. A lot of issues here, including workers not being properly trained, companies not providing masks that are adequate or properly fitted for their workers, also no knowledge of what harmful chemicals these workers could be exposed to when the ozone reacts with the substances in the damaged buildings. Only time will tell for some of these people, I'm sure, as far as any long-term effects are concerned. But their symptoms are in line with those described by the health and safety industry.

And, these ozone machines have been used in close proximity to people who have moved back into these buildings , which are mostly condo-style buildings and inns.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ ... -1.3642987

[Subjectivist]

CBC has reported that people involved in the clean-up efforts in Fort McMurray are falling ill due to working with ozone machines, which the health and safety industry advises against using in occupied spaces. A lot of issues here, including workers not being properly trained, companies not providing masks that are adequate or properly fitted for their workers, also no knowledge of what harmful chemicals these workers could be exposed to when the ozone reacts with the substances in the damaged buildings. Only time will tell for some of these people, I'm sure, as far as any long-term effects are concerned. But their symptoms are in line with those described by the health and safety industry.

And, these ozone machines have been used in close proximity to people who have moved back into these buildings , which are mostly condo-style buildings and inns.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ ... -1.3642987

About 20 years ago I had an older boss who bought a high power ozone machine to clean the air in the workshop so stinks would not get into the attached office where he worked. I had to explain to him that left running 24/7 it would not only get rid of the smells, it would degrade the rubber tires and lubricating grease in the machinery joints, not to mention what it would do to your lungs. After that the ozone generator was run for about half an hour a day to clear the air in the winter months and left off most of the time. The company that sold it refused to take it back because the warnings were in the fine print and "all sales are final"!

[WildRose]

Holy sh*t, Subjectivist. A person really has to know what is in his or her surroundings! I'm glad you did!

[Tanada]

VICTORIA – Drywall prices across Western Canada have shot through the roof after the federal government imposed preliminary anti-dumping tariffs of up to 276 per cent on gypsum board products imported from the United States.

Builders and suppliers fear the ruling could disrupt the supply of the boarding used in walls and ceilings and threaten the completion of residential, commercial and public projects. The tariffs also risk bankrupting contractors who operate under fixed-priced contracts.

A spokesman for Canada’s largest independent gypsum supplier said Tuesday the tariffs undermines the stability of the industry and could impact the rebuilding efforts in Fort McMurray, where thousands of buildings were destroyed by fire earlier this year.

“If we can’t get enough material to ship into the province of Alberta then as Fort McMurray stands, it would be affected like everybody else,” said Doug Skrepnek, chief executive officer at WSB Titan in a telephone interview from Vaughan, Ont.

He said the surprise decision on tariffs hammered the industry.

“On Sept. 6 we went from understanding there may be a tariff to there is a tariff and that tariff will add between 50 and 60 per cent, depending upon the market, price increase to our customers,” said Skrepnek, whose company supplies one in every six sheets of drywall used in Canada.

The Canada Border Services Agency imposed preliminary tariffs last Tuesday on U.S. gypsum board imported into Canada for use in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Yukon and Northwest Territories.

A CBSA statement issued Tuesday said Canadian producers have legislated rights to seek protection from dumped imports by way of duties.

“Following a complaint filed on April 18, 2016, by CertainTeed Gypsum Canada Inc. of Mississauga, Ont., the CBSA initiated an investigation on June 6, 2016,” said the statement. “The CBSA made a preliminary determination of dumping on September 6, 2016 and provisional duties were imposed at that time to offset the dumping.”

No one from CertainTeed Gypsum Canada was not immediately available for comment.

Skrepnek said CertainTeed has gypsum production plants in Vancouver, Calgary and Winnipeg, but the operations are only able to supply between 40 and 60 per cent of the building needs in Western Canada.

The limited supply of CertainTeed gypsum in Western Canada is one reason why U.S. product is imported into Canada, he said.

The CBSA decision is under review for the next three months, but the import duty will remain until a final decision is made, Skrepnek said.

“It is my hope and my desire someone listens and realizes there are thousands of people who really can’t wait 90 days for someone to realize this is a massive issue that needs to be dealt with today,” he said.

http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/dryw ... y-rebuild/

[Tanada]

CALGARY—Alberta wildfires that swept through Fort McMurray in May have resulted in the loss of $1 billion in planned capital spending in the oilsands for 2016, according to Alberta’s chief energy economist.

Matt Foss said Wednesday that he believes those plans are deferred, not cancelled. But he doesn’t know when or if companies will resume their spending given benchmark oil prices that remain below break-even levels.

Foss said the interruptions have dropped expected oilsands spending in the current year to $18.5 billion from $19.5 billion estimated in the province’s spring budget.

“The majority of them were expansions to existing projects,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a heavy oil conference in Calgary.

“It interrupted the logistics chain for them such that their ability to deploy workforce . . . over those months was no longer available and then the rebuild effort around Fort McMurray has them just hitting pause for the moment. Hopefully, they will resume here later this year or early next year.”

Foss said lower costs have reduced the West Texas Intermediate price at which oilsands expansion projects make money by about $10 per barrel to $50 to $60 (U.S.) per barrel — but that’s still higher than current prices in the mid-$40s.

Figures provided by the oilsands companies to the province show that about $800 million scheduled to be spent in May and June did not take place due to the upheaval in workforce availability and construction logistics caused by the fire, said Foss. Although little damage was done to the projects themselves, rebuilding in the city has continued to cause disruptions, he added.

In a followup email, Foss said the “majority” of the spending interruptions are related to three projects which use steam to melt bitumen and pump it to the surface through wells: Cenovus Christina Lake Phase G, Cenovus Foster Creek Phase H and Canadian Natural Resources’ Kirby North.

Brett Harris, a spokesman for Cenovus Energy, said in an email that both of its proposed expansion projects remain on hold because of low oil prices, not the wildfires.

He said a small amount of capital is being spent this year to complete detailed engineering on Christina Lake Phase G and the company is rebidding work on the 50,000-barrel-per-day project which may be brought forward in its budget later this year.

Canadian Natural spokeswoman Julie Woo said Kirby North was placed on hold last January because of low oil prices and also has not been affected by the wildfires.

Oilsands analyst Michael Dunn of FirstEnergy Capital said the wildfires affected progress on major oilsands projects under construction such as Suncor Energy’s Fort Hills oilsands mine, but he expects any capital spending decline to be a deferral, not a cancellation, in those cases.

Alberta oilsands production in May dropped by about one million bpd in May, Foss estimated, and by about 700,000 bpd in June. At full capacity, Canada’s oilsands industry produces about 2.5 million bpd.

One of Alberta’s oldest thermal oilsands projects was forced to shut down during the wildfires and has not reopened. Officials with Japan Canada Oil Sands say their Hangingstone project will remain closed until benchmark oil prices improve to above $50 per barrel.

https://www.thestar.com/business/2016/0 ... -says.html