Evacuation orders for thousands in Alberta were lifted Wednesday while a third oil company joined others in shuttering its facilities threatened by wildfires in the Canadian oil patch.
The fires have blackened nearly 30,000 hectares (7,413 acres) of forests in the Canadian province, forcing a 14-percent cut in oil sands production as residents and oil workers were ordered this week to flee.
As of 10:00 am (1600 GMT), 63 forest fires were still burning, but the number of out-of-control blazes had been reduced from 20 the previous day to 13.
Successes in battling the flames allowed evacuation orders affecting some 4,700 residents of the Wabasca hamlet and other northern communities to be lifted, according to the Alberta wildfire operations center.
"We are somewhat pleased at the slight turn to the better with respect to the control that appears to be in place around the communities and the fact that some people are being able to return to their homes," Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said.
However, elsewhere in the province, MEG Energy shuttered its Christina Lake bitumen mining operation and sent home staff. The mine produces an average of 82,000 barrels of oil per day.
Its closure came after Cenovus and Canadian Natural Resources Limited shuttered oil facilities in the Cold Lake region earlier in the week as fires threatened to cut off access roads.
The combined reduction in oil sands production of the three facilities is 315,000 barrels per day.
Cenovus on Wednesday also temporarily closed another facility that was not yet in production, while Statoil evacuated 115 staff from its Leismer facility without affecting its oil output.
