Catastrophic.
And frightening. It is a long way from being over...the fire is getting worse with no rain in sight.
"But let me be clear: air tankers are not going to stop this fire.
"It (the fire) is going to continue to push through these dry conditions until we actually get some significant rain."
The fire, which had been menacing Fort McMurray since the weekend, rode a rapid shift in winds Tuesday afternoon to cut through the city on an east-west axis, cutting the main road and sending 80,000 residents fleeing in polar opposite directions under a mandatory evacuation order.
Aided by high winds, scorching heat and low humidity, the fire grew from 75 square kilometres Tuesday to 100 square kilometres on Wednesday, but by Thursday it was almost nine times that — at 850 square kilometres.
The fire remained wrapped around the west and southern edges of the city. If the city was the face of a clock, the fire surrounded it from the number four to 11.