The devastation caused by the ferocious Fort McMurray blaze has seen more than 88,000 people evacuated from the Canadian city.
Almost 2,500 homes and buildings have been destroyed and the blaze has been described by the city’s fire chief as a “beast… a fire like I’ve never seen in my life.”
But while the devastation continues to be assessed, a small army of kind-hearted folk are helping those who were left behind – pets.
Keith Mann
Evacuees who were forced to leave the city without their faithful friends have been prevented from reentering for safety reasons - which is where animal rescue centres have been stepping in.
Peace officers from the Alberta SPCA and the Calgary Human Society have been working tirelessly with Wood Buffalo Animal Control Services to retrieve pets ranging from cats and dogs to snakes, gerbils and guinea pigs.
Keith Mann
Truckloads of retrieved animals have been transported to nearby Edmondton where they are being cared for before they are reunited with their owners, CBC News reports.
And one man has gone the extra mile to pitch in – by personally flying some critters from rescue zones north of the fires to the Edmonton centre.
Keith Mann
Pilot Keith Mann loaded his plane with 40 of the four-legged friends in a mercy mission bound to warm hearts.
Mann, who is manager of flight operations for Suncor Energy, and has already been flying human evacuees between rescue camps told The Star: “We’re all animal lovers here. We knew it was important for owners to re-connect with them."
Keith Mann
Normally animals are supposed to be secured in kennels in the hold, but in this case Mann made a special exception for his precious cargo of cats, dogs, rabbits, hedgehogs and chinchillas.
And it sounds like his passengers were well-behaved, with Mann reporting a “pretty quiet” flight, adding: “You could just tell everyone was so happy to be out of camp and on their way.”
Keith Mann
The bulk of the city's evacuees moved south after a mandatory evacuation order, but 25,000 went north and were housed in camps normally used for oil sands workers until they also could be evacuated south.
City officials say 85 to 90 per cent of the city remains intact, including the downtown district and a plan to allow most of the evacuees home will be finalised within a fortnight.
On Tuesday Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said the fire continues to grow outside the city and now is about 790 square miles (2,020 square kilometers) in size.
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FORT MCMURRAY, AB - MAY 9: Wildfire devastation as shown from a media tour. (Katie Daubs/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
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FORT MCMURRAY, AB - MAY 9: Wildfire devastation as shown from a media tour. (Katie Daubs/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
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Charred vehicles and homes are pictured in the Beacon Hill neighbourhood of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, May 9, 2016 after wildfires forced the evacuation of the town. Fort McMurray is still 90-percent intact despite a week of damage from the wildfires devastating Canada's oil sands region, Alberta's premier said after touring the deserted city on Monday. Firefighters warned however that the tens of thousands of residents evacuated from the western oil city would not be able to return for at least two weeks. / AFP / POOL / CHRIS WATTIE (Photo credit should read CHRIS WATTIE/AFP/Getty Images)
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Bicycles are pictured amongst the remains of burned homes in the Abasand neighbourhood of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, May 9, 2016 after wildfires forced the evacuation of the town.Fort McMurray is still 90-percent intact despite a week of damage from the wildfires devastating Canada's oil sands region, Alberta's premier said after touring the deserted city on Monday. Firefighters warned however that the tens of thousands of residents evacuated from the western oil city would not be able to return for at least two weeks. / AFP / POOL / CHRIS WATTIE (Photo credit should read CHRIS WATTIE/AFP/Getty Images)
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Burned out homes are pictured in the Abasand neighbourhood of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, May 9, 2016 after wildfires forced the evacuation of the town. Fort McMurray is still 90-percent intact despite a week of damage from the wildfires devastating Canada's oil sands region, Alberta's premier said after touring the deserted city on Monday. Firefighters warned however that the tens of thousands of residents evacuated from the western oil city would not be able to return for at least two weeks. / AFP / POOL / CHRIS WATTIE (Photo credit should read CHRIS WATTIE/AFP/Getty Images)
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FORT MCMURRAY, AB - MAY 9: Wildfire devastation as shown from a media tour. (Katie Daubs/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
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Burned out homes are seen in the foreground as other homes untouched by wildfires are seen in the background in Fort McMurray, Alberta, May 9, 2016. Fort McMurray is still 90-percent intact despite a week of damage from the wildfires devastating Canada's oil sands region, Alberta's premier said after touring the deserted city on Monday. Firefighters warned however that the tens of thousands of residents evacuated from the western oil city would not be able to return for at least two weeks. / AFP / CP / JONATHAN HAYWARD (Photo credit should read JONATHAN HAYWARD/AFP/Getty Images)
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Burned out homes are pictured in the Abasand neighbourhood of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, May 9, 2016 after wildfires forced the evacuation of the town.Fort McMurray is still 90-percent intact despite a week of damage from the wildfires devastating Canada's oil sands region, Alberta's premier said after touring the deserted city on Monday. Firefighters warned however that the tens of thousands of residents evacuated from the western oil city would not be able to return for at least two weeks. / AFP / POOL / CHRIS WATTIE (Photo credit should read CHRIS WATTIE/AFP/Getty Images)
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FORT MCMURRAY, ALBERTA, CANADA - MAY 6, 2016: DigitalGlobe AFTER-3 infra-red satellite image of a Fort McMurray neighborhood in Alberta following the devastating wildfire that destroyed the town. Image was taken on May 6th, 2016. (DigitalGlobe via GettyImages) NOTE: (1) The red indicated green vegetation. (2) This is a BEFORE-AFTER sequence that perfectly matches the BEFORE image.
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FORT MCMURRAY, ALBERTA, CANADA - AUG 27, 2015: DigitalGlobe BEFORE-4 infrared satellite image of a neighborhood in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada before the devastating wildfire hit the town. Image was taken on August 27, 2015. (DigitalGlobe via GettyImages) NOTE: (1) The red indicated healthy green vegetation. (2) This is a BEFORE-AFTER sequence that perfectly matches the AFTER image.
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A Fort McMurray wildfire evacuee sits with a co-worker's dog at an oilfield work camp where approximately 500 evacuees are staying, in Wandering River, Alberta, Canada, on Sunday, May 8, 2016. Wildfires raging through Alberta have spread toward the main oil-sands facilities north of Fort McMurray, knocking out an estimated 1 million barrels of production from Canadas energy hub. A cold front scheduled to pass through the area Sunday may bring light rain that would help fire fighters battle the inferno. Photographer: Darryl Dyck/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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FORT MCMURRAY, ALBERTA, CANADA - MAY 6, 2016: DigitalGlobe AFTER-2 infrared satellite image of a Fort McMurray neighborhood in Alberta following the devastating wildfire that destroyed the town. Image was taken on May 6th, 2016. (DigitalGlobe via GettyImages) NOTE: (1) The red indicated green vegetation. (2) This is a BEFORE-AFTER sequence that perfectly matches the BEFORE image.
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FORT MCMURRAY, AB - MAY 08: Smoke fills the air as a police officer checks vehicles at a roadblock along Highway 63 leading into Fort McMurray on May 8, 2016 near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. Wildfires, which are still burning out of control, have forced the evacuation of more than 80,000 residents from the town. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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A wildfire burns behind abandoned vehicles on the Alberta Highway 63 near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, on Saturday, May 7, 2016. Wildfires ravaging the center of Canada's oil patch in northern Alberta may double in size as warm temperatures and swirling winds push the inferno in the direction of major oil-sands operations. Photographer: Darryl Dyck/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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A wildfire burns behind an abandoned truck on Alberta Highway 63 near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, on Saturday, May 7, 2016. Wildfires raging through Alberta have spread to the main oil-sands facilities north of Fort McMurray, knocking out an estimated 1 million barrels of production from Canada's energy hub. Fire officials say the out-of-control inferno may keep burning for months without significant rainfall. Photographer: Darryl Dyck/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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FORT MCMURRAY, AB - MAY 07: Smoke from wildfires drifts across the night sky on May 7, 2016 near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. Wildfires, which are still burning out of control, have forced the evacuation of more than 80,000 residents from the town. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Flames rise off Highway 63 on May 7, 2016 outside Fort McMurray, where raging forest fires have forced more than 88,000 from their homes. A ferocious wildfire wreaking havoc in Canada was expected to double in size May 7, 2016, officials warned, cautioning that the situation in the parched Alberta oil sands region was 'unpredictable and dangerous.' / AFP / Cole Burston/ (Photo credit should read COLE BURSTON//AFP/Getty Images)
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Truck drivers stand on Alberta Highway 63 as a wildfire burns near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, on Saturday, May 7, 2016. Wildfires ravaging the center of Canada's oil patch in northern Alberta may double in size as warm temperatures and swirling winds push the inferno in the direction of major oil-sands operations. Photographer: Darryl Dyck/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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FORT MCMURRAY, AB - MAY 07: Home foundations and skeletons of possesions are all that remain in parts of a residential neighborhood destroyed by a wildfire on May 7, 2016 in Fort McMurray, Canada. Wildfires, which are still burning out of control, have forced the evacuation of more than 80,000 residents from the town. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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FORT MCMURRAY, AB - MAY 07: The remains of a charred bicycle sit in a residential neighborhood heavily damages by a wildfire on May 7, 2016 in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. Wildfires, which are still burning out of control, have forced the evacuation of more than 80,000 residents from the town. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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FORT MCMURRAY, AB - MAY 07: Home foundations and skeletons of possesions are all that remain in parts of a residential neighborhood destroyed by a wildfire on May 7, 2016 in Fort McMurray, Canada. Wildfires, which are still burning out of control, have forced the evacuation of more than 80,000 residents from the town. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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FORT MCMURRAY, AB - MAY 07: The remains of a charred vehicle sit in a residential neighborhood heavily damages by a wildfire on May 7, 2016 in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. Wildfires, which are still burning out of control, have forced the evacuation of more than 80,000 residents from the town. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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FORT MCMURRAY, AB - MAY 07: Home foundations and skeletons of possesions are all that remain in parts of a residential neighborhood destroyed by a wildfire on May 7, 2016 in Fort McMurray, Canada. Wildfires, which are still burning out of control, have forced the evacuation of more than 80,000 residents from the town. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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ALBERTA, CANADA - MAY 05: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Aerial view of highway 63 south of Fort McMurray taken from a CH-146 Griffon helicopter on May 5, 2016. The Canadian Armed Forces have air assets deployed in support of the Province of Alberta's wildfire emergency response efforts. (Photo by MCpl VanPutten / Department of National Defence in Canada / Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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FORT MCMURRAY, AB - MAY 07: Home foundations and skeletons of possesions are all that remain in parts of a residential neighborhood destroyed by a wildfire on May 7, 2016 in Fort McMurray, Canada. Wildfires, which are still burning out of control, have forced the evacuation of more than 80,000 residents from the town. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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A water bomber flies overhead along a highway near Fort McMurray, Alberta on May 6, 2016. Canadian police led convoys of cars through the burning ghost town of Fort McMurray Friday in a risky operation to get people to safety far to the south.In the latest chapter of the drama triggered by monster fires in Alberta's oil sands region, the convoys of 50 cars at a time are driving through the city at about 50-60 kilometers per hour (30-40 miles per hour) TV footage showed. / AFP / Cole Burston/ (Photo credit should read COLE BURSTON//AFP/Getty Images)
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FORT MCMURRAY, AB - MAY 06: The remains of a classic Triumph GT6 sit in a residential neighborhood destroyed by a wildfire on May 6, 2016 in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada Wildfires, which are still burning out of control, have forced the evacuation of more than 80,000 residents from the town. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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FORT MCMURRAY, AB - MAY 06: Home foundations and shells of vehicles are nearly all that remain in a residential neighborhood destroyed by a wildfire on May 6, 2016 in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada Wildfires, which are still burning out of control, have forced the evacuation of more than 80,000 residents from the town. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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FORT MCMURRAY, AB - MAY 06: Home foundations are all that remain in a residential neighborhood destroyed by a wildfire on May 6, 2016 in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada Wildfires, which are still burning out of control, have forced the evacuation of more than 80,000 residents from the town. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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FORT MCMURRAY, AB - MAY 06: The remains of a charred bicycle sits in a residential neighborhood on May 6, 2016 in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada Wildfires, which are still burning out of control, have forced the evacuation of more than 80,000 residents from the town. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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FORT MCMURRAY, AB - MAY 06: Home foundations are all that remain in a residential neighborhood destroyed by a wildfire on May 6, 2016 in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada Wildfires, which are still burning out of control, have forced the evacuation of more than 80,000 residents from the town. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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FORT MCMURRAY, AB - MAY 06: Home foundations and shells of vehicles are nearly all that remain in a residential neighborhood destroyed by a wildfire on May 6, 2016 in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada Wildfires, which are still burning out of control, have forced the evacuation of more than 80,000 residents from the town. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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This handout photograph obtained courtesy of the Alberta Agriculture and Forestry Department shows smoke rising from a heavily wooded area on May 3, 2016 in the Canadian city of Fort McMurray, where most of the 100,000 residents were ordered to leave town when the blaze swept through the oil sands region, in what is Alberta province's largest ever evacutation. 'All of Fort McMurray is under a mandatory evacuation order,' Alberta emergency services announced, after previously indicating that the northern edge of the fire was 'growing rapidly.' / AFP / Lynn Daina (Photo credit should read LYNN DAINA/AFP/Getty Images)
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FORT MCMURRAY, AB - MAY 06: The remains of a charred bicycle sits in a residential neighborhood on May 6, 2016 in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada Wildfires, which are still burning out of control, have forced the evacuation of more than 80,000 residents from the town. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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A truck drives on a highway as a wildfire burns south of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, on Wednesday, May 4, 2016. A fire fueled by shifting winds that forced more than 80,000 people to flee their homes and threatened the business district of oil-sands hub Fort McMurray, Canada, raged out of control Wednesday after consuming 80 square kilometers (30 square miles) of land and damaging 1,600 buildings. Photographer: Darryl Dyck/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Flames engulf trees along a highway near Fort McMurray, Alberta, on May 6, 2016. Canadian police led convoys of cars through the burning ghost town of Fort McMurray Friday in a risky operation to get people to safety far to the south.In the latest chapter of the drama triggered by monster fires in Alberta's oil sands region, the convoys of 50 cars at a time are driving through the city at about 50-60 kilometers per hour (30-40 miles per hour) TV footage showed. / AFP / Cole Burston (Photo credit should read COLE BURSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
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Flames engulf trees along a highway near Fort McMurray, Alberta, on May 6, 2016. Canadian police led convoys of cars through the burning ghost town of Fort McMurray Friday in a risky operation to get people to safety far to the south.In the latest chapter of the drama triggered by monster fires in Alberta's oil sands region, the convoys of 50 cars at a time are driving through the city at about 50-60 kilometers per hour (30-40 miles per hour) TV footage showed. / AFP / Cole Burston (Photo credit should read COLE BURSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
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Motorists travel south on Alberta Highway 63 as the setting sun illuminates a huge plume of smoke from wildfires burning in the distance rising over Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, on Wednesday, May 4, 2016. A fire fueled by shifting winds that forced more than 80,000 people to flee their homes and threatened the business district of oil-sands hub Fort McMurray, Canada, raged out of control Wednesday after consuming 80 square kilometers (30 square miles) of land and damaging 1,600 buildings. Photographer: Darryl Dyck/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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A woman picks through donated clothing and goods at a makeshift evacuee center in Lac la Biche, Alberta on May 5, 2016, after fleeing forest fires north of Fort McMurray.Raging wildfires pressed in on the Canadian oil city of Fort McMurray Thursday after more than 80,000 people were forced to flee, abandoning fire-gutted neighborhoods in a chaotic evacuation. No casualties have been reported from the monster blaze, which swept across Alberta's oil sands region driven by strong winds and hot, dry weather. / AFP / Cole Burston (Photo credit should read COLE BURSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
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Evacuees from wildfires in the Fort McMurray area browse through clothing donations at a community center in Lac La Biche, Alberta, Canada, on Thursday, May 5, 2016. A fire fueled by shifting winds that forced more than 80,000 people to flee their homes and threatened the business district of oil-sands hub Fort McMurray, Canada, raged out of control Wednesday after consuming 80 square kilometers (30 square miles) of land and damaging 1,600 buildings. Photographer: Darryl Dyck/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Motorists travel south on Alberta Highway 63 as a huge plume of smoke from wildfires burning in the distance rises over Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, on Wednesday, May 4, 2016. A fire fueled by shifting winds that forced more than 80,000 people to flee their homes and threatened the business district of oil-sands hub Fort McMurray, Canada, raged out of control Wednesday after consuming 80 square kilometers (30 square miles) of land and damaging 1,600 buildings. Photographer: Darryl Dyck/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Volunteers load donated flats of water to be taken to a camp just outside of Wandering River, Canada, on May 5, 2016. The camp is currently housing more than 400 people displaced by the Fort McMurray forest fires, as many make their way south to Edmonton. / AFP / Cole Burston/ (Photo credit should read COLE BURSTON//AFP/Getty Images)
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