XOM Exxon Mobil Corp

By Chester Dawson 

CALGARY, Alberta -- Raging forest fires in Canada's oil-rich province of Alberta forced the closure of one major oil-sands mining operation on Wednesday and reduced output at another, a day after tens of thousands of people evacuated a remote community that serves as a hub for the oil-sands industry.

The rapid spread of the blaze emptied the town of Fort McMurray of some 80,000 residents and has started to affect operations at major oil-sands productions sites. The oil-sands facilities aren't directly threatened by the uncontrolled forest fires, but have been affected by the mandatory evacuations of workers and their families.

Many of the oil-sands sites opened their worker camps to evacuees and operators have sent nonessential staff out of the area. No injuries or casualties have been reported, but the fires swept through areas in and around Fort McMurray. Local authorities didn't have an estimate for the number of homes or other properties damaged or destroyed.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC's Canadian unit halted its oil-sands mining operations, which produce about 250,000 barrels a day, to speed evacuations of people who fled to the site, which is about 95 kilometers (59 miles) north of the fires. A spokesman didn't provide an estimate for how long the shutdown is expected to last.

Suncor Energy Inc., Canada's largest oil producer by volume, said late Tuesday that it reduced production at all of its oil-sands operations due to the forced evacuations. It also said that none of its operations are in the path of the forest fires. Exxon Mobil Corp.'s Canadian unit, Imperial Oil Ltd., said it was evacuating nonessential employees but that production hasn't been affected "at this time," according to a spokeswoman.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he has pledged support for the residents of Fort McMurray and the province of Alberta.

"We will be there for them," Mr. Trudeau said Wednesday. "We all have to work together to provide all possible assistance to the people who are going through a terrible time, who have lost their homes, lost their jobs and have lost all their property. They are asking a lot of questions about their future."

The uncontrolled fires have razed parts of several residential neighborhoods, entered the downtown district and threatened a key bridge connecting the northern and southern parts of town, officials said.

"The worst of the fire is not over," Bernie Schmitte, wildfire manager for Alberta's agriculture and forestry ministry, said at a news conference late Tuesday. The evacuation order remains in effect.

Canada's total oil-sands production is around 2 million barrels a day, much of which is exported to the U.S.

Oil-sands producers have opened worker camps north of Fort McMurray to about 17,000 evacuees and flew out employees not based in the area to make room for displaced residents, Mr. Schmitte told reporters.

The fires, which started late Sunday, spread from a forested area southwest of Fort McMurray and crossed the Athabasca River bisecting the town Monday. They began to threaten residential neighborhoods by midday Tuesday, prompting evacuations.

Firefighters were overwhelmed by the blaze and were unable to stop it despite aerial and ground-based efforts.

"I don't believe there's anything [that] could have been done with respect to firefighting that would have saved any more property," said Darby Allen, Fort McMurray's regional fire chief.

The town is located in a remote area of northern Alberta surrounded by boreal forests consisting largely of jack pine and other fir trees.

Southbound traffic on Highway 63, the city's main arterial road, resumed late Tuesday after being shut down earlier in the day as a precautionary measure due to the wildfires. An estimated 18,000 evacuees used the road to flee to Edmonton, about 430 kilometers (267 miles) south of Fort McMurray.

Unseasonably warm temperatures and dry weather helped ignite 35 wildfires throughout Alberta by midday Tuesday, and a provincewide fire ban is in place, according to the provincial government.

--David George-Cosh and Paul Vieira contributed to this article.

Write to Chester Dawson at chester.dawson@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 04, 2016 12:38 ET (16:38 GMT)

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