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The Associated Press FORTMCMURRAY,ALBERTA Amassivewildfireraging in the Canadian province of Alberta grew to 85,000 hectares (210,035 acres) and officials said Thursday they would like to move south about 25,000 evac- uees who had previously fled north, including 8,000 by air. More than 80,000 people have emptied Fort McMur- ray in the heart of Canada's oil sands, authorities said. The Alberta government said more than 1,100 fire- fighters, 145 helicopters, 138 pieces of heavy equip- ment and 22 air tankers were fighting a total of 49 wildfires, with seven con- sidered out of control. Chad Morrison with AB Wild- fire, manager of wildfire prevention, said the blaze grew rapidly, fueled by gusting winds, and he ex- pected the fire to continue to grow Thursday because of dry conditions but it will be away from the commu- nity. The fire has torched 1,600 homes and other buildings in Fort McMur- ray. There have been no injuries or death from the fires. The province of Al- berta declared a state of emergency. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said so much is de- pendent on the weather and rain is needed. She said she didn't know how much better the evacua- tion could have been when asked if ample warning was given to residents, noting that in 48 hours more than 80,000 people were evacu- ated from a town that es- sentially has two roads out of it. Fort McMurray is sur- rounded by wilderness and is Canada's main oil sands town. Despite the size of the town and its im- portance to the Canadian economy, there are essen- tially only two ways out via car. The region has the third largest reserves of oil in the world behind Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Aided by high winds, scorching heat and low humidity, the fire grew from 29 square miles Tues- day to 38.6 square miles on Wednesday, but by Thursday it was almost nine times that — at 328.2 square miles. The fire re- mained wrapped around the west and southern edges of the city. About 25,000 evacuees moved north in the hours after Tuesday's evacua- tion, where oil sands work camps were being pressed into service to house peo- ple. But the bulk of the more than 80,000 evacu- ees fled south to Edmon- ton and elsewhere, and of- ficials said they eventually would like to move every- one south where they have better support for the dis- placed. CANADIAN PROVINCE Albertawildfiremorethan210,000acres By Albert Aji and Philip Issa The Associated Press DAMASCUS, SYRIA An air- strike hit a crowded refugee camp in Syria on Thursday close to the border with Tur- key,killingatleast28people, according to Syrian pro-op- position activists. The camp in Sarmada, in rebel-held territory the northwestern Idlib province, is home to nearly 2,000 internally dis- placed people who fled the fighting from the surround- ing Aleppo and Hama prov- inces over the past year, ac- cording to activist Moham- mad al-Shafie in the town of Atareb, about 7.5 miles from the camp. The Britain-based Syr- ian Observatory for Hu- man Rights said 28 died while the Local Coordina- tion Committees, another activist group, said more than 30 were killed. The at- tack came just hours after a twin bombing in the central province of Homs killed at least10 people and wounded scores, state media and the regional governor, Talal Bar- razi, said. A car bomb first exploded in the main square of village of Mukharam al- Fawkani, located about 28 miles east of the central city of Homs. As people gathered to help the victims, a suicide bomber riding a motor- cycle detonated his explo- sives belt nearby. Four chil- dren and three women were among those killed, Syrian state TV said, and as many as 49 were wounded in the attack. There was no im- mediate claim of responsi- bility but the Islamic State group has claimed to be be- hind several similar deadly attacks in Homs province. CIVIL WAR At least 28 dead in strike on Syria refugee camp GREGHALINDA—THECANADIANPRESS Smoke from a wildfire rises in the air as cars line up on a road in Fort McMurray, Alberta, on Tuesday. 365-7194 or 365-4322 OPEN 7 DAYS 6am-10pm 8080 AIRPORT ROAD Your full service: Meat Department, Deli & Groceries www.kentsmeats.com On-site HARVESTING CUTTING & CRYOVACING 525 Antelope Blvd, Red Bluff (530) 527-5272 Mon.–Fri.8am-5pm Saturday by appointment Locally owned & operated | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM FRIDAY, MAY 6, 2016 4 B