Majority of houses saved in wildfire-raged Canadian town: official

Firefighters saved almost 90 percent of the structures in Fort McMurray which was engulfed in a huge wildfire that caused a massive evacuation in west Canada over the past week, officials said Monday.

"The city was surrounded by an ocean of fire only a few days ago, but thankfully Fort McMurray and the surrounding areas were saved," said Alberta Premier Rachel Notley after a bus trip joined by media to see the destruction in Alberta's oil sands capital.

In all, about 2,400 houses and buildings were burned in the fire, either completely or partly damaged. But firefighters saved about 25,000 buildings, about 90 percent of the city. Much of the downtown area and infrastructure remained untouched.

Notley said Alberta is grateful for the hard work of firefighters who managed to save most of Fort McMurray from a devastating wildfire. "We will rebuild," she said.

However, Notley said the city is still not safe to return and they will be able to provide the evacuees with a schedule to return within two weeks.

The fire now covers 2,040 square km, still out of control but is growing at a slower pace than it did over the weekend and last week. It is some 25 km to 30 km from the Saskatchewan provincial border. About 700 firefighters are on the scene, with another 300 on the way.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday rejected an offer of water bombers from Russia, saying firefighters in Alberta have all the help they need from other provinces.

The Red Cross, which has been registering evacuees and fundraising, said it has raised 60 million Canadian dollars (about 46 million U.S. dollars) to date, with 51 million Canadian dollars (about 39 million dollars) of that coming from individual donors.

The unprecedented wildfire forced 88,000 residents to flee their homes and caused the major oil sands companies in the area to cut production. Endi