RCMP to escort small groups into Fort McMurray to retrieve abandoned vehicles

In this May 2, 2016 file photo, abandoned vehicles litter Highway 63, south of Fort McMurray, Alta., as residents fled the wildfire engulfing the city. (Brian Langton)

As the planning inches forward to eventually get thousands of Fort McMurray evacuees back into their homes, the province will help reunite many of those forced to flee the flames with their vehicles by escorting small groups into the city on a “first-come, first-served basis.”

In a statement released late Sunday afternoon, Alberta government officials said vehicles abandoned north of Highway 63 and 881, as well as those in the way of crews working on clean-up inside the city are being towed to a yard within Fort McMurray.

Residents are asked to call 780-310-4455 to find out if their car is at the lot and arrange access.

Vehicles that were left legally parked in the community and did not impede emergency responders have not been towed and therefore may not be retrieved at this time.

The province said all people retrieving their vehicles will be accompanied in and out of Fort McMurray by RCMP – with no opportunity for detours or inspections of homes or businesses.

According to officials, owners will need to provide their driver’s licence or other documentation and show that the vehicle registration corresponds with that information.

While authorities can’t guarantee abandoned vehicles will start, additional fuel will be provided by the province to allow drivers to reach the nearest gas station.

The blaze earlier this month effectively cut Fort McMurray in two, forcing about 25,000 people north and another 70,000 south down Highway 63.

For vehicles recovered on Highway 63 south of the city and the Highway 63/881 junction, owners can now claim them from a lot in Wandering River, located about 230 kilometres north of Edmonton, by calling 1-877-671-2717.

"The phone lines have been flooded,” said Derek Marsh, general manager of Double L Towing and Highway 63 Towing. “There’s everything from bikes to trucks.”

Marsh said he and about a half-dozen other tow-truck drivers with his company started retrieving vehicles on Sunday. Some were difficult to tow because after they ran out of gas, they were pushed into ditches to keep them from blocking the highway.

They've been releasing vehicles to their owners since Tuesday.

Marsh said about 30 vehicles were claimed by Saturday.

A preliminary re-entry plan is expected to be released in about 10 days.

With files from the Canadian Press