Suncor Shuts Oil Sands Mine Again as Alberta Fires Spread
- Biggest oil-sands producer shuts base plant for second time
- Conference Board says fire to cost economy C$985 million
Fires Shift Back Toward Canada Oil Sands
Wildfires raging across Alberta shifted back toward oil-sands installations north of Fort McMurray, forcing the evacuation of thousands of workers and prompting Suncor Energy Inc. to shut its main mine just as work was resuming.
About 8,000 workers were removed from lodging facilities threatened by a fire that had grown to about 3,550 square kilometers (1,370 square miles), Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said. That’s an area bigger than Rhode Island. Suncor began shutting operations at its base plant days after workers returned to restart the facility. Horizon North Logistics Inc.’s Blacksand lodge, a work camp about 40 kilometers (24 miles) northwest of Fort McMurray that serves Suncor and Syncrude Canada Ltd. sites, was destroyed by fire on Tuesday, Notley said.