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A Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer looks on at smoke rises from wildfires near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, May 6, 2016.CHRIS WATTIE/Reuters

RCMP say they have found some residents still in Fort McMurray despite the massive evacuation of more than 80,000 people from the city and region due to a major forest fire, but have moved to get those individuals out.

Inspector Kevin Kunetzki told a briefing Saturday that police yesterday found a family of five and also an individual in a home with no cell communication or means of escaping the northern Alberta community under siege from a fire of about 1,000 square kilometres.

"The numbers are not great but yet they still exist and are out there. Obviously, we're concerned about their health with the amount of smoke that's in the community. We're doing whatever we can to get them out as quickly as we can," he said.

"There are very few cases of people refusing to leave. The vast majority of people we come across want to leave. (They) just didn't have the means to get out so we're providing that assistance to them."

He acknowledged some property crime, and said the police made one arrest. But he said the situation is under investigation and not considered significant. "This is not a situation where crime is rampant."

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said only emergency responders with specific responsibilities should be in Fort McMurray, but noted there's no way to force out the few people remaining in their homes despite the massive evacuation.

"We can ask them but if they're in their homes we don't have the authority," Ms. Notley told a Saturday briefing in Edmonton.

"Quite honestly, we're concerned about safety and the safety of everybody. One fatality is one fatality too many so we really must urge everybody to leave so our first responders can focus on fighting the fire."

The Premier described Fort McMurray as a town now without vital services.

"The gas has been turned off. The power grid has been damaged and large portions of the city don't have power right now. The water is not currently drinkable. There are no stores open. There's a great deal of hazardous materials to be cleaned up and many other things to be done before the city is safe for families to go home."

She said officials are addressing all of these issues.

Scott Long, a senior emergency official, shed some further light on the state of the evacuated Fort McMurray on Saturday as he acknowledged water damage to homes in the emptied city.

During a late afternoon briefing, Mr. Long said large industrial sprinklers have been spraying houses to protect them from embers and sparks from the wildfire.

Also, water bombers have deposited extinguishing payloads in residential areas as part of "extraordinary" firefighting measures.

However, the executive director of provincial operations for the Alberta Emergency Management Agency said the impact was inevitable given the challenging circumstances.

"It's quite possible there could be water damage," he said. "A little bit of water damage in the basement, I think, is acceptable at this point."

While about 5,500 people are at reception centres outside Fort McMurray, Ms. Notley said other evacuees have made their own housing arrangements.

She said details of a transitional housing plan should be available next week, but the province needs evacuees to register in order to facilitate logistical planning. Talks have been underway with universities about access to their residences and Ms. Notley said some property managers have offered free access to housing.

"There are not a lot of people that are still there, but there are a few. There are a few people that are still there who are, perhaps, not as interested in leaving, not great numbers at all."

The inspector described a smoky, perilous situation in the city – "it's just not a situation that's safe for anybody" – and urged people not to enter. "If people were to come in at this point in time, it would hamper the response, our ability to make it safe because then we're now having to deal with those issues as opposed to allowing us just to do our work."

Inspector Kunetzki said police were able to move 1,500 to 1,700 vehicles in convoys out of the city, but are proceeding today on that option on a "case by case" basis given changing conditions. He said there were 50 to 60 cars in line this morning.

"Where possible, we want to help people. We want to get them to other locations where there are going to be provisions."

He said many houses have burned in the city. Some estimates have suggested 1,600 structures have been consumed.

A member of the media asked if police had any plans to get out themselves. The inspector said about 120 officers are moving through the community, apparently on patrol, while at any time up to 350 officers are stationed in the RCMP detachment.

"That's certainly not on any of our minds or something we have considered. From the police perspective now, the greatest dangers have come through and I say that cautiously. We have no intentions of giving up."

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