Uncontrolled Alberta wildfire continues to blaze near Suncor oil sands site

By Nia Williams

(Reuters) - A wildfire in northern Alberta that forced Suncor Energy to shut in some oil sands production has not moved closer to any infrastructure, Alberta's wildfire agency said on Friday, although it added that crews expect another challenging day.

Suncor, Canada's second-largest oil company, temporarily curtailed some production and evacuated non-essential workers from its 215,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Firebag site on Wednesday because of a fire roughly eight kilometres (5 miles) away.

The Calgary-based company did not specify how much production was shut in but said Firebag will be kept ready to resume full output as soon as conditions were safe.

Alberta Wildfire said the out-of-control blaze about 70 kilometres (43 miles) northeast of the oil sands hub of Fort McMurray, is around 12,000 hectares (29,700 acres) in size.

"Yesterday, there was no significant growth towards any infrastructure," the agency said in a statement.

However the eastern flank of the fire, furthest from Firebag, grew significantly, Alberta Wildfire added.

There are 142 firefighters and 14 helicopters tackling the blaze, including two that can fly at night.

(Reporting by Nia Williams in British Columbia; Editing by Rod Nickel)