Fort McMurray's Evacuation ‘Miracle,’ by Horse and Chopper
- More than 80,000 escape along famously dangerous highway
- `Felt like Fear of the Walking Dead' as choppers circled blaze
Fire Forces Evacuation of Canadian Oil Sands City
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Alberta’s Highway 63 could have been a deadly bottleneck. The winding road through northern Canada, notoriously dangerous and little better than a wagon trail in some spots, is the only way into -- or out of -- the heart of the oil sands, Fort McMurray.
And yet when wildfires engulfed the town this week, it was along Highway 63 that nearly all its residents escaped. Police were still escorting southbound convoys on the road early Friday, days after more than 80,000 people had fled -- most in their own vehicles, others by horse, or helicopter.