First look at Fort McMurray since wildfire reveals devastated neighbourhoods, but 90pc of city’s homes were spared

Canadian officials who got their first glimpse on Monday of the oil sands boomtown of Fort McMurray since a wildfire erupted said they were encouraged by how much of it escaped destruction, estimating almost 90 per cent of its buildings were saved.

But a tour of the fire-ravaged city also revealed scenes of utter devastation, with blocks of homes reduced to blackened foundations, front steps and metal barbecues.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said 2,400 structures had burned within the city while almost 25,000 were saved.

The fire, which has ravaged some 204,000 hectares of Alberta, moved far enough away from the evacuated town of 88,000 people to allow an official delegation led by the Notley to visit.

“We were really encouraged today to see the extent of residential communities that were saved,” Notley said. “That of course doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be some really heartbreaking images for some people to see when they come back.”

Reporters on the tour viewed the charred rubble of the community’s Beacon Hill neighbourhood, where some 80 per cent of the homes had been burned to the ground and the wreckage of blackened and melted cars remained on roads.