Wildfire in Canada explodes after consuming at least 385,000 acres, 1,600 homes and structures

2512014+2016-05-07T024522Z_2_LYNXNPEC451I8_RTROPTP_4_CANADA-WILDFIRE-FORTMCMURRAY.JPG — Evacuees from the Fort McMurray wildfires, Ellyse Naughton (L), holds her toy robotic dog as her mother Erin looks at her phone as they camp at the Christina Lake campground in Conklin, Alberta, Canada, May 5, 2016. REUTERS/Mark Blinch

By Reuters Media

May 07, 2016 at 1:13 PM

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1/8: People wait Saturday at a roadblock as smoke rises from wildfires near Fort McMurray, Alberta. (REUTERS/Chris Wattie)

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2/8: Two RCMP police officers wear gas masks in the smoke from the wildfires near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, May 6, 2016. REUTERS/Mark Blinch

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3/8: A man takes a photograph of the wildfires near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, May 6, 2016. REUTERS/Mark Blinch

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4/8: A helicopter flies through smoke from the wildfires near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, May 6, 2016. REUTERS/Mark Blinch

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5/8: A pink car remains among the ruins of destroyed buildings after wildfires tore through the Waterways area of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada May 5, 2016. Courtesy of Brad Readman/Alberta Fire Fighters Association/Handout via REUTERS

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6/8: Evacuees who were stranded north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, because of wildfires head south of Fort McMurray on Highway 63, May 6, 2016. REUTERS/Chris Wattie

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7/8: An evacuee from the Fort McMurray wildfires checks his phone at the "Bold Center" in Lac la Biche, Alberta, May 5, 2016. REUTERS/Mark Blinch

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8/8: Michael Sadowsky, an evacuee from the Fort McMurray wildfires, kisses his cat Dexter after they were escorted through Fort McMurray after being stranded north of the city on Friday, in Wandering River, Alberta, Canada, May 6, 2016. REUTERS/Mark Blinch

Wildfire in Canada explodes after consuming at least 385,000 acres, 1,600 homes and structures

LAC LA BICHE, Alberta - A raging Canadian wildfire grew explosively on Saturday as hot, dry winds pushed the blaze across the energy heartland of Alberta and smoke forced the shutdown of a major oil sands project.