Canada oil sand sites evacuated due to wildfires

The evacuation orders, which affect some 8,000 people, were issued late Monday (0200 GMT Tuesday) for a region between Fort McMurray and a few kilometers south of the town of Fort MacKay, officials said. 

"The evacuation zone has increased north of the city of Fort McMurray due to evolving fire conditions," the regional municipality of Wood Buffalo said. "Several camps are affected by this evacuation. Approximately 8,000 people impacted," the statement read.

Canadian oil company Suncor said it "is in the process of transporting personnel from the lodges on Aostra Road and near its base plant facility to other lodges further north." And as a precautionary measure, "we have started a staged and orderly shutdown of our base plant operations. There has been no damage to Suncor's assets," the company added in a statement.