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Over 6,000 Told to Evacuate as Fort McMurray Fire Rages
As a wildfire rages uncontrollably south of Fort McMurray, Alberta, over 6000 inhabitants have been told to evacuate their homes. The wildfire, which was discovered on Thursday around 25 kilometers southwest of the city, has expanded into an 11,000-hectare storm.
As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, it was approximately 7.5 kilometers from Fort McMurray’s dump and 6.5 kilometers from the intersection of Highways 63 and 881 according to Fort McMurray Today.
According to Alberta Wildfire spokesperson Josee St-Onge, the fire has grown in size and spread to the northeast since the last estimate.
She stated that the wind is driving it towards Fort McMurray. According to St-Onge, the fire is approximately 13.5 kilometers from the Fort McMurray landfill, but “smoke is impacting visibility” and making it difficult to identify actual distances.
“We’re seeing extreme fire behaviour,” she stated. “Smoke columns are developing.” Firefighters have been removed from the fire lines for their own safety, according to St-Onge, but the aerial onslaught continues.
“We understand that this is a very stressful time for the community.” We’re doing everything we can,” she explained.
People in the Abasand, Beacon Hill, Grayling Terrace, and Prairie Creek communities have been asked to leave. Abasand and Beacon Hill lost the majority of the 2,579 properties burned by the Horse River wildfire of 2016.
Rush to evacuate Fort McMurray
People in Fort McMurray have been urged to prepare for an evacuation since Friday afternoon, when the wildfire, known as MWF-017, reached 200 hectares. A same warning applies to Anzac, Gregoire Lake Estates, Saprae Creek, and the Fort McMurray First Nation.
“If you live in an area not subject to these evacuation orders, please allow these communities to evacuate first.” “It’s critical that we approach this in a safe, orderly, and respectful manner,” said Jody Butz, the RMWB’s regional fire chief and emergency director, at a press conference.
“It’s critical for me to understand that this fire activity is completely different from the 2016 Horse River wildfire. We have a plethora of resources and are well positioned to handle this crisis.”
Despite Butz’s warnings, many individuals from other communities clogged Highway 63 as they rushed to evacuate Fort McMurray. The Wood Buffalo RCMP stopped the route between route 881 and Highway 69, limiting transportation to persons in evacuation zones.
It will take awhile for emergency personnel to determine the real number of people that evacuated Fort McMurray.
High Winds Fueling the Fire
Butz stated at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon that he is sure that no additional evacuation orders would be issued for the Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo region. He also stated that there are currently no signs that the wildfire would cross the Athabasca River.
Winds are moving the wildfire northeast toward Fort McMurray. Current forecasts indicate that winds will begin to carry the blaze west and northwest around 8 p.m. However, Butz also stated that the weather has shifted from beneficial to combative for firefighters fighting the wildfire.
“The previous days’ forecast was highly good. The favorable winds carried the fire and smoke away from the neighborhood. There were also projections for precipitation. That has changed, and they are factors over which we have no influence,” Butz explained.
Butz expressed “a high, high level of confidence” that firefighters will succeed in keeping the wildfire away of Fort McMurray. Butz mentioned benefits that firemen now have that did not exist in 2016, during the press conference, earlier interviews, and a council meeting.
There are less fuel sources for the fire because the 2016 Horse River wildfire burnt through dead and dry vegetation that had accumulated over time. The fire is now burning through dead grass and burned trees from 2016.
In the past eight years, wildfire combat strategies and methods have also improved. In comparison to 2016, there are more fire guards closer to Fort McMurray and more workers fighting the blaze.
Many emergency management leaders are veterans of the 2016 wildfire. People also have more experience dealing with evacuations.
“This fire is much different than 2016,” Butz added, expressing hope that reentry will be “quite quick.” “We are far more prepared and we have definitely reduced the impact of welfare on our communities.”
The Fort McMurray municipality advises people to:
- Follow rmwb.ca/alerts for evacuation information
- Be aware and stay informed by following official and trusted channels such as alberta.ca/wildfire-status
- Download the Alberta Emergency Alerts App
- Check road updates at 511.alberta.ca
- Follow local media sources
- Arrange with neighbours to advise one another of an emergency notification
- Prepare an emergency kit for your household
- Make an emergency plan for your household
- Evacuees should register online. Anyone needing accommodation or support should report to the Parkland One registration centre in Lac La Biche.
Wildfires in Fort Nelson BC Expands to 17 Square Miles Forcing Evacuations
Wildfires in Fort Nelson BC Expands to 17 Square Miles Forcing Evacuations
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Canadian Man Arrested for TikTok Video That Threatened Trudeau
A TikTok video that went live earlier this week has led to a Toronto man facing charges of threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland. Andrew Marshall, 61, is facing two counts of uttering threats.
On Friday afternoon, the Ontario Court of Justice granted him bail with a surety and restrictions after the RCMP charged him on Wednesday.
Following Monday’s upload to TikTok, CBC Toronto conducted its own independent investigation of the video. Marshall vehemently opposes what he perceives as restrictions on free expression in Canada in it.
“I get them taken down all the time— I make videos — or all my comments, that are just simple comments,” Marsh says in the TikTok. “It’s just getting ridiculous, Marshall said.”
According to the CBC more and more people are threatening politicians. The commissioner of the RCMP has hinted that further measures may be necessary to ensure their safety.
In the TikTok video, Marshall explains in great detail how he would brutally assassinate Trudeau and Freeland “if it was up to him.”
Marshall attacks multiple groups throughout the roughly 11-minute TikTok video, including the media, Muslims, migrants, and the police who defend the government.
Among Marshall’s bail terms are the following: he must not communicate with Trudeau or Freeland; he must not use the internet to make social media posts or comments; he must not own any weapons; and he must not apply for a firearms permit.
During the bail hearing, the prosecution provided all of the evidence that is often not published.
Nate Jackson, Marshall’s attorney, stressed his client’s liberties and privileges as a Canadian in an email message.
“He has the right to freedom of speech, the right to reasonable bail and the right to a fair trial,” he said. “Having secured his release from custody, we will continue to defend Mr. Marshall’s Charter rights as his case proceeds.”
Neither Freeland’s nor the prime minister’s office would comment on the allegations, according to the CBC.
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Canada’s Unemployment Rate Hits its Highest Point Since 2017
As the job market remains dismal, the national unemployment rate in Canada has risen to its highest point since 2017. This has led some analysts to question whether the Bank of Canada should be reducing interest rates more quickly.
In spite of a net gain of 22,000 jobs, Statistics Canada reported on Friday that the unemployment rate increased to 6.6% from 6.4% the previous month. The rise was due to an uptick in part-time employment and a fall in full-time employment.
Outside of the pandemic years, the national unemployment rate has reached its highest position since May 2017, according to StatCan.
Rapid population expansion in Canada has increased the overall labour pool, but the country’s unemployment rate has persisted in rising.
The summer job market was especially tough for students, according to StatCan. Not including the pandemic, the unemployment rate among students going back to school in the autumn was 16.7 percent, which is the highest level since 2012.
Two days after the Bank of Canada dropped interest rates for the third time in a row, reducing borrowing costs to alleviate economic pressure, the most recent reading of the Canadian job market follows suit.
According to TD Bank economist Leslie Preston, who wrote a note on Friday, the central bank is “giving the OK” to keep dropping rates due to the bad August jobs report. Preston predicts two more quarter-point decreases at the remaining decisions this year.
According to CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham, there are indications that the labour market is quickly contracting more than initially thought, since the unemployment rate is nearly two percentage points greater than the record low of 4.9% in June 2022.
“Due to this, we believe the Bank should be contemplating a quicker rate of reductions in order to bring interest rates to less restrictive levels,” he informed clients in a letter on Friday morning.
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US Job Growth Falls Short of Expectations: Economy Struggles Under High Interest Rates
Last month, job growth in the United States was weaker than predicted, prompting concerns that the world’s largest economy is beginning to struggle under the weight of increased interest rates.
The Labour Department said that employers added 142,000 jobs in August, which was less than the nearly 160,000 economists predicted. It also stated that job gains over the preceding two months were weaker than expected.
However, the jobless rate went down to 4.2%, down from 4.3% in July.
The report is one of the most important indicators of the US economy and arrives at a vital time, as voters consider presidential candidates for the November election and the US central bank contemplates its first interest rate decrease in four years.
Analysts said the latest statistics kept the Federal Reserve on pace for a rate drop at its meeting this month, but did little to answer worries about the trajectory of the US economy or how much of a cut it should make.
“There has rarely been such a make-or-break number; unfortunately, today’s jobs report does not completely resolve the recession debate,” said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management.
Soaring prices in 2022 caused the Federal Reserve to hike its key lending rate to 5.3%, a nearly 20-year high.
Faced with increased borrowing costs for homes, vehicles, and other debt, the economy has slowed, helping to alleviate pressures that were boosting inflation but exacerbating market concerns.
As inflation has fallen to 2.9% in July, the Fed is under pressure to decrease interest rates to prevent additional economic deceleration.
Although job increases in August fell short of expectations, they were greater than in July, when a slowdown aroused anxieties and triggered several days of stock market volatility.
Last month, construction and health-care firms hired the most, while manufacturing and retailers laid off employees.
Ms Shah stated that the data in Friday’s report was mixed, but provided enough concerning indicators that the Fed should make a larger cut.
“On balance, with inflation pressures subdued, there is no reason for the Fed not to err on the side of caution and frontload rate cuts,” she told reporters.
Others, however, felt the advances were just steady enough to warrant a 0.25 percentage point decrease, as markets had long projected – though this could signal more cuts than expected in the coming months.
Paul Ashworth, Capital Economics’ senior North America economist, predicted that the Fed’s decision will be “close run.”
“The labour market is clearly experiencing a marked slowdown,” he said, adding that the new statistics were “overall still consistent with an economy experiencing a soft landing rather than plummeting into recession”.
Concerns about the economy are a major issue in the US election.
According to polls, a majority of Americans feel the US is in a recession, despite healthy 2.5% growth last year.
Donald Trump has declared that the economy is headed for a “crash,” and his team instantly latched on the latest data to criticise Vice President Kamala Harris, publishing a press release titled “warning lights flash as Kamala’s economy continues to weaken.”
Democrats have defended their performance, claiming that the United States survived the pandemic and inflation better than many other countries.
They believe the slowdown is a sign that the economy is returning to a more sustainable rate of growth following the post-pandemic boom.
“Although hiring has slowed, the US job market continues to generate solid job gains and wage growth that is consistently beating inflation,” the White House Council of Economic Advisors stated in a blog.
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