Fort McMurray Disaster:Wildfire Shows No Let Up;Rescue Convoys Continue

As of Saturday morning,there was no improvement in the wildfire catastrophe that has virtually emptied what remains of Fort McMurray,Alberta,sending its 80,000 residents fleeing north or south from the conflagration.According to Federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale,the situation remains unpredictable and dangerous.The convoys that guided around 7500 evacuees from their crowded refuges in the oilsands camps north of the city on Friday would continue today,he said.Hopefully another 7500 of the 20,000 northern evacuees would be convoyed to safety south of Fort McMurray today.The residents of the city were split up into those fleeing north and those rushing south when the main highway through town,Highway 63,was closed by the raging blaze.They are taking refuge as far south as Edmonton and Calgary in everywhere from hotels to reception centres and the homes of friends and relatives.
Police are marshaling the evacuees into small convoys of 50 vehicles each that are then led down the road one convoy at a time.A handful of stragglers in the city have been escorted out by the RCMP.Wildland firefighters from other provinces are being brought into the area to relieve their exhausted Alberta colleagues.Fires or the threat of fires are currently rampant across the entire boreal forest in the dry and windswept conditions.
The fire,which is likely to burn on for weeks,will result in losses of well into the billions of dollars.So far,there are no known fatalties from it,but it is surely a chapter in the history of North American wildland fire,given the scope of the evacuations and the extreme fire behaviour,such as firenadoes,whirlwinds of flame that have been spotted among the trees and brush of Fort McMurray.

Closer To Neil Young;FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015

Tonight are featured two Neil Young songs,"Revolution Blues" from the 2014 box set "CSNY 2014" and "Born in Ontario" from the 2012 double album with his band Crazy Horse "Psychedelic Pill."
Neil Percival Young,69,was born to a Canadian father and American mother in Toronto,but spent his early childhood in bucolic Omemee,Ontario.Later,the family lived for short periods in Pickney and Toronto,before finally settling in Winnipeg,Manitoba for his musically formative years,after his parents divorced.His formal title is Neil Young OC,OM,indicating he was awarded the Order of Canada and the Order of Merit by the Governor General of Canada and the British Crown for his artistic and cultural achievements.
The father of two sons and a daughter,Young has released 35 albums,with another scheduled for release on 16 June.He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice,for his work with Buffalo Springfield,and as a solo artist-often accompanied by Crazy Horse.An environmental and rural activist,the Los Angeles resident is closely associated with the annual Farm Aid benefit concert to help farm families avoid foreclosure and promote farm produce.He is a longtime friend of fellow Canadian and singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell,and has known Stephen Stills since before their 1960s stint in Buffalo Springfield.
His double album "Psychedelic Pill" has a 4.5 out of 5 stars rating from customer reviews.The CD version lists at 13.88 on Amazon.It is a work interwoven with autobiographical themes.Clearly Neil Young is one of the most productive and gifted stars in the history of rock.
His summer tour begins on 5 July at the Honour the Treaties Benefit at Rexall Place in Edmonton,Alberta.*
While we're on the subject of Canada,let's not forget the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015,which is being played in Edmonton,Winnipeg,Moncton,Ottawa,Vancouver and Montreal.The first match is Canada versus the People's Republic of China at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on 6 June at 16:00 local time.It will be braodcast on Fox Sports 1 at 6 pm ET.Team USA's first match,versus Australia,will be broadcast on FS 1 at 7:30 pm ET on 8 June.
The top five teams in the FIFA world rankings are:1.Germany;2.USA;3.France;4.Japan;and 5.Sweden.