VOA慢速英语2016--史上最强野火袭击加拿大

AS IT IS 2016-05-07 Thousands More Flee Huge Canadian Wildfire 史上最强野火袭击加拿大

At sunrise Friday, 1,500 vehicles began driving from camps north of Fort¹ McMurray, Alberta to Canadian cities and towns further south.

The drivers and passengers are escaping a raging² forest fire that started on May 1 and quickly surrounded Fort McMurray.

One driver told the Reuters news service the city looked like “a war zone.”

When the wildfire started, many people fled their homes and moved to shelters set up north of the city.

That is where workers with jobs in Canada’s oil industry live.

But the work camp is not equipped to serve thousands of people for an extended³ period.

In all, over 80,000 people left Fort McMurray because of the fire.

Canadian officials say at least 1,600 homes and buildings have been damaged or destroyed.

People are also leaving the area north of Fort McMurray by airplane. About 8,000 people flew to the cities of Calgary and Edmonton on Thursday after roads were not safe enough for travel. Officials hope a similar number can leave on Friday.

Police are moving cars and trucks along the main road through Fort McMurray in groups of 50. Once vehicles reach a point 20 kilometers south of the city, a new group begins its trip.

The wildfire covered an area of about 75 square kilometers on Tuesday. By Thursday, it had grown to 850 square kilometers. The fire can be seen from the International Space Station. Its smoke has reached as far south as New Orleans, just north of the Gulf⁴ of Mexico.

It is not yet known how the fire started, but it has moved quickly because of winds, warm weather and dry conditions.

Over 1,000 firefighters have been deployed⁵ to the area. They are working with helicopters, heavy equipment and airplanes that can carry water and drop it on the fire.

But the Alberta manager of wildfire prevention said only a long period of rain will put out the fires.

Words in This Story

evacuate⁶ – v. to remove (someone) from a dangerous place

raging – adj. very wild and violent

1 fort   

n.要塞，堡垒，碉堡

参考例句：

• The fort can not be defended against an air attack.这座要塞遭到空袭时无法防御。
• No one can get into the fort without a pass.没有通行证，任何人不得进入要塞。

2 raging   

a.violent;furious

参考例句：

• Firemen tried to quench the flames raging through the building. 消防队员奋力扑救大楼中熊熊的火焰。
• The stream had become a raging torrent. 小溪变成了一条汹涌的急流。

3 extended   

adj.延伸的；伸展的；延长的；扩大的v.延伸(extend的过去式和过去分词)；伸展；延长

参考例句：

• an extended lunch hour 延长了的午餐时间
• France has greatly extended its influence in world affairs. 在世界事务中，法国的影响已大大地扩大了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

5 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

6 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。