Wildfires rage in Alberta, interrupting oil and gas production

The state of Alberta has declared a provincial state of emergency following the beginning of the wildfire season, which prompted mass evacuations from the area, while also disrupting oil and gas production there.

Alberta is known to be Canada’s main oil-producing province. Alberta’s oil manufacturers have decreased 3.7 percent of its national production, equivalent to around 319,000 barrels of oil.

Oil producers who decreased their production include Vermilion Energy Inc and Crescent Point Energy Corp, which announced restoring about 85 percent of production.

While, Vermilion Energy has announced it has restored about 60 percent of its interrupted production. Fires burning across Alberta have reached 90 fires by Monday, leading to the evacuation of more than 17,400 evacuees.

Sara Hoffman, a meteorologist with Environment Canada expressed her concern about the “the possibility of dry lightning in an area that’s already got a pretty high fire risk.”

Canada’s prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Alberta on Monday, where no rain is expected for the next ten days.