FORT MCMURRAY, Alberta -- The entire city of 60,000 in Fort McMurray was ordered evacuated Tuesday as a huge wildfire burned homes, businesses and swept through entire neighborhoods, the CBC News reported.
Fire Chief Darby Allen said the entire neighborhood of Beacon Hill "appears to have been lost" and the fire burned many homes in other parts of the city, the CBC said.
Officials said about 17,000 residents escaped the city to the north, while another 35,000 drove south, with at least half the number headed for Edmonton.
Allen called Tuesday "a devastating day" and said Wednesday could be just as bad, with winds expected to pick up.
Fort McMurray's only hospital was also evacuated, the CBC said.
Fort McMurray is 435 kilometers (270 mi) northeast of Edmonton and about 60 kilometres (37 mi) west of the Saskatchewan border.